Why Mastercard paid double for stablecoin infrastructure it could have built

Mastercard's acquisition of stablecoin settlement platform BVNK for $1.8 billion—more than double its last valuation—signals the payments industry's urgent need to move beyond outdated correspondent banking rails. The high premium was paid not for BVNK's technology, which Mastercard could have built, but for its painstakingly assembled, multi-jurisdictional licensing framework across 130 countries, which would have taken years to replicate. This compliance framework is deemed the true product in the current landscape. The acquisition is particularly significant for emerging markets, where stablecoin settlement can drastically reduce high remittance fees (currently 6-8%) by eliminating intermediary correspondent banks, potentially reshaping financial access for the unbanked. This move, alongside similar actions by Stripe, signals a race among major card networks to secure regulated stablecoin infrastructure, as unregulated alternatives gain ground where compliant options are slow to arrive. The premium reflects the cost of time lost while waiting for regulatory approval.

(Source：CoinDesk)