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MasterCard is an American multinational payment card services corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York. It offers a range of payment transaction processing and other related-payment services (such as travel-related payments and bookings).
Stripe, Mastercard, and Circle acquired three stablecoin companies within two years, with total deal value exceeding $3 billion
Odaily News: Venture investor Alex Lazarow wrote that over the past two years, Stripe, Mastercard, and Circle respectively acquired U.S. stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge, UK stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK, and Singapore-based cross-border payment platform Tazapay, with the three deals totaling over $3 billion in value. Stripe announced in 2024 that it would acquire Bridge for slightly more than $1 billion; Mastercard's acquisition of BVNK was valued at up to $1.8 billion, including $1.5 billion in base consideration and $300 million in contingent consideration; Circle agreed to acquire Tazapay for $400 million in stock, with the deal expected to close in 2027. Bridge, BVNK, and Tazapay were founded between 2020 and 2022 and had raised approximately $200 million in cumulative funding. Growing stablecoin adoption, an increasingly clear regulatory framework, and rising demand for real-time cross-border payments are the main factors driving the related M&A activity. In 2025, stablecoin adjusted transaction volume grew 91% year-over-year to $10.9 trillion, approaching Visa's $14.2 trillion; real-world payment volume more than doubled to approximately $390 billion.
Coinbase reportedly bid as high as $2.5 billion to acquire BVNK, ultimately losing out to Mastercard's $1.8 billion acquisition
Odaily News The inside story behind stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK's acquisition by Mastercard for $1.8 billion has recently come to light. According to Concentric, an early investor in BVNK, during the bidding process, US crypto exchange Coinbase once held an advantageous position and reportedly submitted a bid as high as $2.5 billion, but ultimately withdrew from the competition due to insufficient strategic and cultural alignment between the two parties.Kjartan Rist, founding partner of Concentric, stated that BVNK's founding team did not focus solely on the offer price when selecting an acquirer, but placed greater emphasis on long-term partnership and corporate culture fit. "Coinbase may have offered a higher price, but the chemistry between the two sides was not ideal." In contrast, Mastercard, as a traditional financial services company, is more likely to create synergies with BVNK in payment infrastructure and stablecoin applications.It is understood that Mastercard participated in acquisition discussions with BVNK at an early stage, and after Coinbase failed to advance the deal, Mastercard re-emerged as the primary buyer, ultimately completing the acquisition for $1.8 billion.Visa also participated in the competition. Having previously invested in BVNK and holding a board observer seat, Visa once had an advantage. However, Visa ultimately chose not to pursue a direct acquisition, instead adopting an open strategy of partnering with multiple stablecoin companies.Founded in 2018, BVNK provides enterprises with stablecoin payment, cross-border settlement, and treasury management infrastructure. Its early investor Concentric invested in the company at a valuation of $4 million in 2019, and this transaction has generated substantial returns.The acquisition also reflects a new round of competition between traditional payment giants and crypto companies over stablecoin infrastructure. Previously, Stripe acquired stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge for $1.1 billion, prompting payment giants such as Visa and Mastercard to accelerate their expansion into the stablecoin sector.Currently, the global stablecoin market size has approached $300 billion. As enterprise payments, cross-border settlements, and treasury management use cases grow rapidly, stablecoin infrastructure is becoming a critical gateway for traditional financial institutions to capture. (CoinDesk)
Mastercard Completes Acquisition of BVNK in Deal Valued Up to $1.8 Billion
Odaily News: Mastercard has completed its acquisition of stablecoin payments company BVNK, integrating its on-chain settlement and wallet infrastructure into its global network. The final acquisition price was not disclosed; when the agreement was announced in March, the transaction was valued at up to $1.8 billion, including $300 million in contingent payments. Founded in 2021, BVNK provides businesses with infrastructure to send, receive, store, and convert funds between traditional currencies and blockchain networks. Mastercard stated that BVNK's existing customers will continue to use the same products, integrations, and support teams, and no action is required at this time. Mastercard's Chief Product Officer Jorn Lambert said that digital currencies, particularly stablecoins, are increasingly meeting real-world needs. The combined platform is expected to support banks in connecting customer accounts with digital wallets and provide payment service providers with 24/7 merchant settlement capabilities.
ZeroHash, a cryptocurrency infrastructure company, is seeking new funding at a valuation of over $1.5 billion.
According to CoinDesk, crypto infrastructure firm Zerohash is seeking new funding at a valuation exceeding $1.5 billion. This comes after Mastercard abandoned its investment plans for Zerohash following its $1.8 billion acquisition of UK-based stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK. Founded in 2017, Zerohash provides APIs and embedded development tools to financial institutions and fintech companies, enabling support for cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and tokenized products. The company now serves over 5 million users across 190 countries, with clients including Morgan Stanley, Stripe, Interactive Brokers, BlackRock’s BUIDL Fund, and Franklin Templeton. In September 2025, Zerohash closed its $104 million Series D-2 round, valuing the company at $1 billion at that time.
Rain receives Mastercard support to advance on-chain settlement integration, valuation approaches $2 billion
stablecoin infrastructure startup Rain is now valued at $1.95 billion and has announced a partnership with payment giant Mastercard to issue credit and prepaid cards, while also exploring the use of stablecoins for payment settlements. Previously, Rain primarily relied on the Visa network for its card products. This collaboration with Mastercard marks its entry into a "dual-card network" strategy, further expanding its institutional client market. Rain stated that the partnership will focus on serving large institutional clients already deeply integrated with a single payment network, enabling them to introduce stablecoin settlement capabilities without altering their existing payment systems.Meanwhile, the application of stablecoins continues to expand across the industry, with institutions such as Stripe and Coinbase actively promoting the integration of stablecoin payments and settlements. This indicates that the convergence of traditional finance and crypto payment infrastructure is accelerating. Analysts suggest that as regulatory frameworks gradually become clearer, stablecoins are rapidly transitioning from trading tools to enterprise payment and cross-border settlement infrastructure. (Fortune)
Mastercard Launches Stablecoin Security Service to Screen for Fraud and Sanctions Risks Before Stablecoin Payment Completion
According to The Block, Mastercard announced at Money20/20 USA the launch of its stablecoin risk intelligence service, Stablecoin Security. The service helps financial institutions assess stablecoin payment risks before funds are moved on-chain. The system traces fund origins, screens for potential links to fraud, scams, sanctions violations, and other financial crimes, and generates a risk score based on transaction context. Banks can integrate the scoring into their existing risk management and compliance systems via API. Borderless.xyz and Keyrails serve as the launch partners. The service will initially roll out in North America, with global commercial deployment expected in 2027. Citing research from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Mastercard noted that transactions on Ethereum in 2025 encompassed 593 million stablecoin transfer events across 141 million transactions, with nearly 60% occurring within complex multi-step processes rather than simple one-to-one payments.
Stripe, Mastercard, and Circle acquired three stablecoin companies within two years, with total deal value exceeding $3 billion
Odaily News: Venture investor Alex Lazarow wrote that over the past two years, Stripe, Mastercard, and Circle respectively acquired U.S. stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge, UK stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK, and Singapore-based cross-border payment platform Tazapay, with the three deals totaling over $3 billion in value. Stripe announced in 2024 that it would acquire Bridge for slightly more than $1 billion; Mastercard's acquisition of BVNK was valued at up to $1.8 billion, including $1.5 billion in base consideration and $300 million in contingent consideration; Circle agreed to acquire Tazapay for $400 million in stock, with the deal expected to close in 2027. Bridge, BVNK, and Tazapay were founded between 2020 and 2022 and had raised approximately $200 million in cumulative funding. Growing stablecoin adoption, an increasingly clear regulatory framework, and rising demand for real-time cross-border payments are the main factors driving the related M&A activity. In 2025, stablecoin adjusted transaction volume grew 91% year-over-year to $10.9 trillion, approaching Visa's $14.2 trillion; real-world payment volume more than doubled to approximately $390 billion.
Mastercard Launches Wallet Pay to Enter the 4.3 Billion-User Digital Wallet Market
According to Bitcoin.com, Mastercard officially launched the Wallet Pay payment solution on September 10, aiming to connect global digital wallets to its international payment network. The solution supports NFC contactless, QR code, online, and cross-border payments, covering over 200 countries and regions and 150 currencies. Global digital wallet users currently exceed 4.3 billion and are projected to surpass 6 billion by 2030. Participating entities include major wallet operators such as Alipay+, Mercado Pago, and MTN. Additionally, Mastercard announced support for the settlement of six compliant stablecoins across eight blockchain networks, and is partnering with over 85 institutions through its Crypto Partner Program to advance blockchain payment infrastructure.
万事达卡与 Borderless 测试稳定币跨境转账身份验证框架
据 Cointelegraph 报道，万事达卡与稳定币编排网络 Borderless 启动试点项目，测试其 Crypto Credential（加密凭证） 框架在跨境稳定币支付中的应用。该试点旨在通过统一标准与验证信号，提升交易各方在审批、合规及风险管理流程中的确定性，降低跨境支付摩擦。
Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, BlackRock and other financial institutions are reportedly planning to jointly launch a stablecoin called OUSD
according to market sources, several financial and crypto institutions, including Visa, Stripe, Mastercard, BlackRock, and Coinbase, are planning to jointly launch a new stablecoin named "OUSD".The report states that the stablecoin project is expected to adopt a multi-party collaboration model and share related revenue mechanisms among the participating institutions. However, the specific structure, launch timeline, and regulatory arrangements have not yet been publicly disclosed.If the news is confirmed, it would mark a further deep integration between traditional payment giants and Wall Street asset management institutions in the stablecoin sector. The parties involved have not yet officially confirmed the reports.
OKX Star: Has been deeply rooted in Europe for eight years and will continue expanding its AI and compliant finance initiatives
OKX CEO Star posted on X, stating that OKX began its European expansion in 2018 and has collaborated continuously with regulators and the crypto community over the past eight years, gradually transforming from a technology company into a regulated fintech firm. He emphasized that OKX consistently corrected mistakes and rapidly optimized its operations throughout this evolution. OKX is the world’s first institution to obtain an MiCA license and also holds both a Payment Institution (PI) license and an MiFID license. It now offers euro deposit and withdrawal channels in Europe, zero-fee stablecoin payments powered by the Mastercard network, hundreds of spot trading pairs, and derivatives services covering cryptocurrencies, commodities, and equities.
The UAE leads "Operation Ghost Clash", uniting 30 countries to combat cross-border digital fraud and identify over $39 billion in fraud-linked assets.
According to information released by the UAE Ministry of Interior via PR Newswire, the ministry led "Operation Confrontation Ghost". Law enforcement agencies from 30 countries, Interpol, the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), and 13 companies including Meta, TikTok, Mastercard, Huawei, and Crypto.com participated in the operation. Conducted from July 1 to September 30, 2026, the action targeted three categories of crime: AI-enabled fraud, digital financial fraud, and technology-assisted extortion. The operation identified over 15,500 victims and 3,500 suspects, arrested over 960 individuals, raided 29 scam centers, shut down more than 570 implicated social media accounts, and uncovered over 4,126 fraud-related bank accounts. Participants exchanged over 9,000 pieces of intelligence and identified more than $39 billion in fraud-linked funds and cryptocurrency assets. This amount does not represent the total recovered sum, as recovery efforts remain ongoing.
AI Agents Can Now Make Payments Autonomously as Mastercard Opens Early Access to Agent Pay for Machines
Odaily reports: Mastercard has announced early access to its AI agent payment system, Agent Pay for Machines, and demonstrated actual transactions at the Cloudflare Connect conference. Built on the open protocol x402, the system allows AI agents to autonomously discover services, negotiate transaction terms, and complete payments, while operating under human-preset budget caps. When an agent accesses a paid service and receives a "402 Payment Required" response, it generates a digitally signed payment credential, which the service provider verifies before delivering the service; the credentials can be settled in batches. In the demonstration, a marketing agent completed 9 payments to two independent merchants under a single budget, without needing to register separate accounts or handle separate invoices. Coinbase provides wallet services, Base handles on-chain settlement, and BVNK supports fiat or stablecoin payments and settlement through Mastercard's Global Money Platform. Mastercard will also provide developers with buyer and seller APIs, SDKs, and a testing environment, and has already conducted end-to-end pilots with Cloudflare, AWS, Coinbase, and other organizations.
Completed the 10 billion ARC genesis mint, Circle has not yet committed to a public offering
Odaily reports: Circle launched the Arc public chain's public mainnet on September 16, 2026. The first batch of 11 founding validators includes BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation. Arc uses USDC as its native gas token and supports sub-second finality and optional privacy features, targeting stablecoin payments, real-world assets, and tokenized markets; BlackRock plans to deploy the BUIDL fund to Arc to support on-chain subscriptions and redemptions. Circle stated that the entire initial supply was minted in the United States this week, but this is only a technical milestone and does not represent a commitment to a public offering; the company is exploring a transition of its consensus mechanism from Proof of Authority to Proof of Stake in 2027.
Mastercard Launches Wallet Pay to Enter the 4.3 Billion-User Digital Wallet Market
According to Bitcoin.com, Mastercard officially launched the Wallet Pay payment solution on September 10, aiming to connect global digital wallets to its international payment network. The solution supports NFC contactless, QR code, online, and cross-border payments, covering over 200 countries and regions and 150 currencies. Global digital wallet users currently exceed 4.3 billion and are projected to surpass 6 billion by 2030. Participating entities include major wallet operators such as Alipay+, Mercado Pago, and MTN. Additionally, Mastercard announced support for the settlement of six compliant stablecoins across eight blockchain networks, and is partnering with over 85 institutions through its Crypto Partner Program to advance blockchain payment infrastructure.
Mastercard Completes Acquisition of BVNK in Deal Valued Up to $1.8 Billion
Odaily News: Mastercard has completed its acquisition of stablecoin payments company BVNK, integrating its on-chain settlement and wallet infrastructure into its global network. The final acquisition price was not disclosed; when the agreement was announced in March, the transaction was valued at up to $1.8 billion, including $300 million in contingent payments. Founded in 2021, BVNK provides businesses with infrastructure to send, receive, store, and convert funds between traditional currencies and blockchain networks. Mastercard stated that BVNK's existing customers will continue to use the same products, integrations, and support teams, and no action is required at this time. Mastercard's Chief Product Officer Jorn Lambert said that digital currencies, particularly stablecoins, are increasingly meeting real-world needs. The combined platform is expected to support banks in connecting customer accounts with digital wallets and provide payment service providers with 24/7 merchant settlement capabilities.
Circle Announces Arc Founding Validator Lineup, Public Mainnet to Launch on September 16
Circle announced the founding validator lineup for its open blockchain network Arc and confirmed that the public mainnet will launch on September 16, 2026. Currently, Arc has onboarded over 100 ecosystem and institutional builders on the private mainnet.
Related news
The UAE leads "Operation Ghost Clash", uniting 30 countries to combat cross-border digital fraud and identify over $39 billion in fraud-linked assets.
According to information released by the UAE Ministry of Interior via PR Newswire, the ministry led "Operation Confrontation Ghost". Law enforcement agencies from 30 countries, Interpol, the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), and 13 companies including Meta, TikTok, Mastercard, Huawei, and Crypto.com participated in the operation. Conducted from July 1 to September 30, 2026, the action targeted three categories of crime: AI-enabled fraud, digital financial fraud, and technology-assisted extortion. The operation identified over 15,500 victims and 3,500 suspects, arrested over 960 individuals, raided 29 scam centers, shut down more than 570 implicated social media accounts, and uncovered over 4,126 fraud-related bank accounts. Participants exchanged over 9,000 pieces of intelligence and identified more than $39 billion in fraud-linked funds and cryptocurrency assets. This amount does not represent the total recovered sum, as recovery efforts remain ongoing.
AI Agents Can Now Make Payments Autonomously as Mastercard Opens Early Access to Agent Pay for Machines
Odaily reports: Mastercard has announced early access to its AI agent payment system, Agent Pay for Machines, and demonstrated actual transactions at the Cloudflare Connect conference. Built on the open protocol x402, the system allows AI agents to autonomously discover services, negotiate transaction terms, and complete payments, while operating under human-preset budget caps. When an agent accesses a paid service and receives a "402 Payment Required" response, it generates a digitally signed payment credential, which the service provider verifies before delivering the service; the credentials can be settled in batches. In the demonstration, a marketing agent completed 9 payments to two independent merchants under a single budget, without needing to register separate accounts or handle separate invoices. Coinbase provides wallet services, Base handles on-chain settlement, and BVNK supports fiat or stablecoin payments and settlement through Mastercard's Global Money Platform. Mastercard will also provide developers with buyer and seller APIs, SDKs, and a testing environment, and has already conducted end-to-end pilots with Cloudflare, AWS, Coinbase, and other organizations.
Mastercard Launches Stablecoin Security Service to Screen for Fraud and Sanctions Risks Before Stablecoin Payment Completion
According to The Block, Mastercard announced at Money20/20 USA the launch of its stablecoin risk intelligence service, Stablecoin Security. The service helps financial institutions assess stablecoin payment risks before funds are moved on-chain. The system traces fund origins, screens for potential links to fraud, scams, sanctions violations, and other financial crimes, and generates a risk score based on transaction context. Banks can integrate the scoring into their existing risk management and compliance systems via API. Borderless.xyz and Keyrails serve as the launch partners. The service will initially roll out in North America, with global commercial deployment expected in 2027. Citing research from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Mastercard noted that transactions on Ethereum in 2025 encompassed 593 million stablecoin transfer events across 141 million transactions, with nearly 60% occurring within complex multi-step processes rather than simple one-to-one payments.
Stripe, Mastercard, and Circle acquired three stablecoin companies within two years, with total deal value exceeding $3 billion
Odaily News: Venture investor Alex Lazarow wrote that over the past two years, Stripe, Mastercard, and Circle respectively acquired U.S. stablecoin infrastructure company Bridge, UK stablecoin infrastructure company BVNK, and Singapore-based cross-border payment platform Tazapay, with the three deals totaling over $3 billion in value. Stripe announced in 2024 that it would acquire Bridge for slightly more than $1 billion; Mastercard's acquisition of BVNK was valued at up to $1.8 billion, including $1.5 billion in base consideration and $300 million in contingent consideration; Circle agreed to acquire Tazapay for $400 million in stock, with the deal expected to close in 2027. Bridge, BVNK, and Tazapay were founded between 2020 and 2022 and had raised approximately $200 million in cumulative funding. Growing stablecoin adoption, an increasingly clear regulatory framework, and rising demand for real-time cross-border payments are the main factors driving the related M&A activity. In 2025, stablecoin adjusted transaction volume grew 91% year-over-year to $10.9 trillion, approaching Visa's $14.2 trillion; real-world payment volume more than doubled to approximately $390 billion.
SoFi Moves Its Over $25 Billion Annual Card Business to SoFiUSD Settlement
Odaily reports: Digital bank SoFi has begun settling debit and credit card transactions with Mastercard through the stablecoin SoFiUSD, and plans to migrate its entire card business to the system. The card business is expected to process over $25 billion in annualized transaction volume.SoFi stated that cardholders can continue to use their cards as usual, with on-chain settlement occurring in the background to accelerate transaction settlement. The arrangement does not remove intermediaries such as Mastercard and banks from the card settlement process, but instead provides an alternative blockchain-based settlement channel. (Cointelegraph)
Completed the 10 billion ARC genesis mint, Circle has not yet committed to a public offering
Odaily reports: Circle launched the Arc public chain's public mainnet on September 16, 2026. The first batch of 11 founding validators includes BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard, and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation. Arc uses USDC as its native gas token and supports sub-second finality and optional privacy features, targeting stablecoin payments, real-world assets, and tokenized markets; BlackRock plans to deploy the BUIDL fund to Arc to support on-chain subscriptions and redemptions. Circle stated that the entire initial supply was minted in the United States this week, but this is only a technical milestone and does not represent a commitment to a public offering; the company is exploring a transition of its consensus mechanism from Proof of Authority to Proof of Stake in 2027.