Payments behemoth Visa has invested in BVNK, a London-based startup focused on stablecoin payment infrastructure, signaling continued interest in digital asset innovation.
According to a May 7 BVNK announcement, the startup “secured a strategic investment from Visa through their Visa Ventures arm.” Furthermore, while the company does not explain fully what it entails, it refers to the investment as “more than capital” and describes it as a partnership. The company’s CEO, Jesse Hemson-Struthers, wrote:
“I’m particularly excited about what it means to partner with Visa—the original payments innovator. Their deep expertise in building global payment networks, combined with our stablecoin infrastructure, creates powerful possibilities for redefining how businesses operate in today’s digital economy.“
Rubail Birwadker, head of products and partnerships at Visa, explained that “stablecoins are fast becoming a part of global payment flows.” He said that Visa invests in new technologies and builders, such as BVNK, who are involved in “what’s next in commerce to better serve our clients and partners.”
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BVNK is on a roll
Visa’s investment in BVNK follows the stablecoin infrastructure company closing a $50 million Series B funding round led by Haun Ventures at the end of 2024, with plans to expand into the United States. The round saw the participation of industry heavyweights including Coinbase Ventures, Scribble Ventures, DRW VC, and existing investors Avenir and Tiger Global.
The company is based in London and was estimated to be worth about $750 million at the time. BVNK planned to leverage its US offices to develop a local banking infrastructure and work on operational licenses to serve local companies.
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VISA banks on crypto
Visa has been increasingly scaling up its involvement in the crypto space. In late October 2024, the firm allowed Visa users with eligible debit cards will soon be able to instantly deposit and withdraw funds from their accounts with crypto exchange Coinbase. Visa said at the time that “Coinbase already has millions of users with a debit card connected to their account,” and now they will get “real-time delivery of account funds for those using an eligible Visa debit card.”
During the same month, Visa unveiled its Visa Tokenized Asset Platform. This new system aims to simplify the issuance and management of tokenized assets, including tokenized deposits, stablecoins, and central bank digital currencies.
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