Mastercard has formally walked away from a planned investment in rival crypto infrastructure firm Zerohash, signaling it will pour its stablecoin ambitions into the $1.8 billion acquisition of London-based startup BVNK instead. The pullback, reported on May 25, leaves Mastercard betting on one integrated stablecoin ecosystem rather than spreading wagers across multiple providers.
The BVNK deal — announced March 17 — carries a $1.5 billion base price plus up to $300 million in performance-based payments, making it Mastercard's biggest crypto acquisition ever. BVNK, founded in 2021 and valued at roughly $750 million, processes more than $30 billion in annual payments and operates across 130-plus countries on all major blockchains. Mastercard plans to fold its technology into Mastercard Move, its cross-border remittance network.
The move matters because it shows traditional payment giants absorbing stablecoin rails to stay competitive as on-chain payment volume swells past $350 billion a year. The acquisition is expected to close before the end of 2026, pending regulatory approval.