The deal, which is currently being negotiated, is estimated to be valued between $1.5bn and $2.5bn.
Card payment services platform Mastercard and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase are reportedly both in talks to individually acquire UK-based start-up BVNK, in a deal believed to be worth between $1.5bn and $2.5bn, according to a report published by Fortune. If successful, this would be the largest stablecoin acquisition to date.
BVNK previously raised $50m in a Series B funding round at the end of 2024 led by Haun Ventures, with participation from investors Coinbase Ventures, Scribble Ventures, DRW Venture Capital and existing investors Avenir and Tiger Global. The start-up has also seen more recent investment this year from Visa and Citi’s venture arms.
Founded in 2021 by CEO Jesse Hemson-Struthers, CBO Chris Harmse and CTO Donald Jackson, BVNK has a presence in both London and San Francisco. The company is a financial technology platform that provides stablecoin payment infrastructure to businesses, to facilitate small and large-scale transactions and financial services.
Anonymous sources told Fortune that, while a deal may not be finalised between either of the currently bidding organisations, it appears that at the moment Coinbase is pulling ahead in the race.
Stablecoin is a cryptocurrency designed to stay relatively stable or predictable in price, by being tied to fiat (government-issued) currencies and commodities. The interest in BVNK by established organisations such as Mastercard and Coinbase is potentially indicative of a further commitment to ‘less volatile’ digital assets.
In October of last year, fintech giant Stripe acquired stablecoin platform Bridge in a deal valued at roughly $1.1bn. The negotiation marked the largest acquisition for Stripe and one of the largest in the cryptocurrency industry at that time. The organisation had previously been on a six-year crypto hiatus, but returned to the scene with infrastructure support for USDC stablecoins in April of last year.
More recently, in May, Bridge partnered with card payment service Visa to launch the first global bank card linked to stablecoin wallets. When a customer makes a transaction, Bridge can deduct funds from their stablecoin and convert them into fiat, enabling payments in local currencies.
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