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Payments behemoth Visa has invested in BVNK, a London-based startup focused on stablecoin payment infrastructure, signaling continued interest in digital asset innovation.<\/p>\n
According to a May 7 BVNK announcement<\/a>, the startup \u201csecured a strategic investment from Visa through their Visa Ventures arm.\u201d Furthermore, while the company does not explain fully what it entails, it refers to the investment as \u201cmore than capital\u201d and describes it as a partnership. The company\u2019s CEO, Jesse Hemson-Struthers, wrote:<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m particularly excited about what it means to partner with Visa\u2014the 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\u2019s digital economy.\u201c<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Rubail Birwadker, head of products and partnerships at Visa, explained that \u201cstablecoins are fast becoming a part of global payment flows.\u201d He said that Visa invests in new technologies and builders, such as BVNK, who are involved in \u201cwhat\u2019s next in commerce to better serve our clients and partners.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: <\/strong><\/em>Stablecoin fever: 5 major stablecoins are growing crypto adoption<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Visa\u2019s investment in BVNK follows the stablecoin infrastructure company closing a $50 million Series B funding round<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Related: <\/strong><\/em>Pro-crypto Democrats pull support for stablecoin bill in last minute<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 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 \u201cCoinbase already has millions of users with a debit card connected to their account,\u201d and now they will get \u201creal-time delivery of account funds for those using an eligible Visa debit card.\u201d<\/p>\n During the same month, Visa unveiled its Visa Tokenized Asset Platform<\/a>. This new system aims to simplify the issuance and management of tokenized assets<\/a>, including tokenized deposits, stablecoins, and central bank digital currencies.<\/p>\nBVNK is on a roll<\/h2>\n
VISA banks on crypto<\/h2>\n