Mastercard Acquires London-Based BVNK for $1.8B to Bridge Stablecoin and Fiat Payments

Mastercard announced the acquisition of BVNK, a London-based stablecoin infrastructure startup, for up to $1.8 billion. BVNK's platform enables sending and receiving payments across all major blockchain networks in 130+ countries, processing over $25 billion annually. The deal positions Mastercard to connect traditional card rails, bank rails, stablecoins, and tokenised deposits into a single unified payment network — directly responding to the European regulatory push for payment sovereignty.