Visa increases its investment in crypto market, strategically investing in London stablecoin platform BVNK

Global payment giant Visa is accelerating its layout in the field of cryptocurrency. On May 7, London-based stablecoin payment startup BVNK announced that it had received a strategic investment from Visa Ventures, Visa's venture capital arm. This move highlights Visa's firm confidence in the future role of stablecoins and digital assets in the global payment system.

Strategic cooperation: not only capital, but also in-depth collaboration

According to the announcement released by BVNK, this financing is not only financial support, but also marks a new stage in the partnership between BVNK and Visa. BVNK CEO Jesse Hemson-Struthers said: "I am particularly excited to work with Visa, a pioneer in payment innovation. Their rich experience in building a global payment network will complement our stablecoin infrastructure and jointly reshape the digital economic operation model of global companies."

Rubail Birwadker, head of Visa's products and partnerships, also emphasized that stablecoins have been rapidly integrated into the global payment system. Visa hopes to accelerate the construction of more flexible and efficient commercial payment solutions to serve its global customers and partner network by investing in emerging companies such as BVNK.

This strategic investment also provides an important fulcrum for Visa to continue to promote enterprise-level services in the crypto ecosystem. Industry analysts believe that Visa is trying to position itself as an important bridge connecting traditional finance and Web3 innovation.

BVNK accelerates expansion, targeting the US market

Visa's investment took place against the backdrop of BVNK's strong financing momentum. At the end of 2024, the company had just completed a $50 million Series B financing led by Haun Ventures, with other well-known investors including Coinbase Ventures, Scribble Ventures, DRW VC, Tiger Global and other well-known institutions. At that time, BVNK was valued at approximately $750 million and announced that it would expand its business to the US market.

BVNK is headquartered in London and focuses on providing cross-border stablecoin payments, digital currency settlements and related banking services to companies. As the application of stablecoins in global trade, supply chain settlement and other scenarios continues to expand, BVNK is actively building banking infrastructure in the United States and striving to obtain the necessary regulatory licenses to provide compliance services to local corporate customers.

With the strategic collaboration with Visa, BVNK is expected to accelerate its compliance construction and global expansion of its payment network, and enhance its competitiveness in the corporate crypto payment market.

Visa Crypto Strategy: From Debit Cards to Tokenized Asset Platforms

This is not the first time Visa has entered the field of stablecoins and digital assets. In recent years, Visa has repeatedly increased its crypto ecosystem layout through product innovation and cooperative investment.

In October 2024, Visa announced a partnership with Coinbase to allow users holding eligible Visa debit cards to achieve instant top-ups and withdrawals on the Coinbase platform. This service provides millions of users with real-time fund delivery capabilities, improving the liquidity and convenience between crypto funds and traditional payment systems.

In the same month, Visa also launched the "Visa Tokenized Asset Platform", which aims to provide technical support and issuance management services for tokenized deposits, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDC). This platform is seen as a key step for Visa to move towards asset tokenization.

The role of stablecoins in the future of payments is becoming increasingly important

As digital assets anchored to fiat currencies and with low volatility, stablecoins have shown great potential in international settlements, cross-border payments and corporate fund management in recent years. Visa's bet on BVNK shows that it has regarded stablecoins as an important part of the future payment network.

As more and more fintech companies and traditional institutions around the world pay attention to the commercial application of stablecoins, the regulatory environment is gradually becoming clearer. The cooperation between Visa and BVNK will not only promote the construction of stablecoin payment infrastructure, but also provide more reliable, compliant and efficient solutions for corporate and institutional clients.