Mastercard closed its $1.8B purchase of BVNK, a stablecoin payments firm, to integrate blockchain settlement. The deal includes $300M in earn-outs.
Mastercard finished its $1.8 billion acquisition of BVNK, a stablecoin payment infrastructure firm, the companies said Thursday. The deal includes $300 million in deferred consideration tied to performance targets.
BVNK will operate within Mastercard's existing payments network. The combined platform will let banks offer stablecoin payment services, connecting customer bank accounts to digital wallets, Mastercard said in a statement. Payment providers will be able to settle merchant transactions continuously, outside traditional banking hours.
The acquisition follows a collapsed $2 billion deal between Coinbase and BVNK that reached due diligence before both parties walked away in November 2025, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mastercard has been building out its digital asset capabilities for several years. The company said the BVNK purchase will support cross-border business payments, merchant payouts, treasury operations, and tokenized asset settlements. Banks, payment providers, and fintechs will get more infrastructure to blend digital currencies with fiat payment rails, Mastercard said.
BVNK told customers that existing products, integrations, and support will remain unchanged. The firm's blockchain infrastructure will combine with Mastercard's card network and fund transfer services.
AlphaScala's proprietary score for Mastercard stands at 71 out of 100, reflecting moderate fundamentals in the Financials sector. The stock has been largely flat since the deal was announced in March.
The broader push into stablecoin infrastructure comes as traditional payment networks compete with crypto-native rails for cross-border settlement volume. Mastercard's move echoes similar efforts by Visa, which has also invested in blockchain-based payment systems.
For BVNK, the acquisition ends a period of uncertainty after the Coinbase deal fell through. The $300 million earn-out gives the BVNK team an incentive to hit growth targets under Mastercard's ownership.
The companies did not disclose a timeline for integrating BVNK's technology into Mastercard's core processing systems.
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