Payment Giants Bet on Stablecoin Infrastructure with Big-Budget Acquisitions

The payment giants are making big bets on infrastructure in the crypto space, buying up companies that provide stablecoin settlement services. Mastercard's recent acquisition of BVNK for up to $1.8 billion is a prime example, with the company noting that digital currencies like stablecoins are addressing real-world needs in areas such as cross-border payments and remittances.

Other players like Stripe have also been making similar moves, buying Bridge for $1.1 billion last year and investing in Velocity through its Visa Ventures arm. The Open USD stablecoin, backed by a consortium of over 140 companies including Coinbase and BlackRock, is another example of this trend.

The UK's Financial Conduct Authority has opened its authorisation gateway for cryptoasset firms, including stablecoin issuers, with an application window running through February 28, 2027. The FCA's approach is structurally different from what the US is building, with HM Treasury proposing that UK-issued qualifying stablecoins be treated as money-like instruments eligible for regulated payment services.

The divergence between the two regulatory models is producing two settlement models: one that integrates stablecoins directly into regulated payment services and another that treats them more like financial instruments. The question is which model will attract the first wave of institutional-grade settlement volume, with the UK's gateway opening today and the payment networks having already bought up the pipes.