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• The deal follows earlier acquisition discussions between BVNK and Coinbase, which ended without an agreement.
• Mastercard had also explored acquiring Zerohash, though those talks also fell apart earlier this year.
• The global stablecoin market capitalization has reached a record high of over $316 billion.

Mastercard (MA) seems to have won the bidding war against Coinbase (COIN) for stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK. The company announced on Tuesday that it had entered into an agreement to acquire BVNK for up to $1.8 billion. 

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The announcement comes after Mastercard was reportedly in talks to acquire Zerohash, which fell apart earlier this year. Meanwhile, Coinbase and BVNK called off acquisition discussions in November last year after coming close to sealing the deal at around $2 billion. A Coinbase spokesperson at the time said the parties had “mutually agreed” not to proceed with the deal.

Mastercard’s stock edged 0.7% higher in morning trade, while retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the firm rose to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ territory over the past day. Chatter also rose to ‘normal’ from ‘low’ levels.

Payments Firms Race To Build Stablecoin Capabilities

According to one user on Stocktwits, Mastercard’s acquisition of BVNK is more of a response to Stripe’s acquisition of Bridge last year.

The move comes as traditional payment networks, including Mastercard and Visa (V), are seeking to gain greater market share in the stablecoin market. According to DeFiLlama data, the total stablecoin market capitalization currently stands at a record high of over $316 billion.

In its announcement, Mastercard highlighted a report by Boston Consulting Group, which estimated global digital payments volumes reached between $350 billion and $500 billion in 2025 – the target addressable market the company is looking to capture.

Digital Payments Growth Drives Strategic Shift

“We expect that most financial institutions and fintechs will, in time, provide digital currency services, be it with stablecoins or tokenized deposits,” said Jorn Lambert, Chief Product Officer, Mastercard. “Adding on-chain rails to our network will support speed and programmability for virtually every type of transaction.” 

Mastercard shares are down more than 10% this year and have declined about 2% over the past 12 months.

Read also: PayPal Eyes 70-Country PYUSD Expansion With Rewards For Its Stablecoin, Despite CLARITY Act Limbo

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