BVNK, a London-based fintech startup founded by a group of South Africans, is in advanced discussions with Mastercard and Coinbase over a potential acquisition valued at around $2 billion (R34.5 billion).
According to a Fortune report, both companies have been negotiating to buy the business-to-business stablecoin payments startup.
The sale, which has yet to be finalised, is expected to be between $1.5 billion (R17.3 billion) and $2.5 billion (R43.1 billion).
If concluded, the deal would mark one of the largest acquisitions in the stablecoin sector and a major milestone for African-founded fintech innovation on the global stage.
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BVNK attracts global giants amid stablecoin boom
Founded in 2021 by South Africans Jesse Hemson-Struthers, Donald Jackson, and Chris Harmse, BVNK builds business-to-business infrastructure for stablecoin payments, cross-border transfers, and treasury management.
The company’s platform enables businesses to send, receive, exchange, and store fiat and digital currencies.
In December 2024, BVNK raised $50 million in a Series B round valued at about $750 million. The funding was led by Haun Ventures, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Tiger Global, Visa Ventures, Citi Ventures, and other investors. An earlier $40 million Series A round in 2022 valued the startup at $340 million.
Chief Executive Officer Hemson-Struthers said their vision has always been to “accelerate global money movement with stablecoins,” noting that the firm’s infrastructure is built to unify traditional and blockchain-based financial systems.
“We’ve been building infrastructure that makes it easy for businesses to send, receive, exchange, and store stablecoins and fiat funds,” he said.
Their core operation lies in Layer1 infrastructure, which is designed to process payments at scale across multiple networks. The technology has handled over $8 billion in annualised transaction volume, providing faster settlements and improved efficiency for global businesses.
“Stablecoins represent a path to efficiency, product innovation, and new revenue for payment companies,” Hemson-Struthers explained. “Over the last five years, we’ve built our own stablecoin infrastructure to solve the problems we faced as we scaled.”
Despite its London headquarters, BVNK maintains strong ties to South Africa, where over 100 of its 400-plus employees are based. The company’s founders previously built successful ventures such as Coindirect and SAcamera, which have deep roots in the South African tech ecosystem.
Also, the company earned multiple global recognitions, including Best Cross-Border Payment Solution 2025, Sifted’s “100 Most Promising Startups,” and CB Insights’ “Top 100 Private Fintech Companies.”
About BVNK
BVNK describes its mission as “accelerating global money movement by unifying financial worlds.” The company believes stablecoins are transforming finance much like digital networks transformed communication.
Its stablecoin-native financial stack allows enterprises and payment providers to send instant payouts, receive pay-ins, convert currencies, and spend globally, all powered by stablecoins.
Looking ahead, Hemson-Struthers envisions a financial landscape where “traditional fiat systems remain important but primarily serve as bridges into and out of the on-chain economy.”