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Coinbase has walked away from its proposed $2 billion acquisition of UK-based stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK, bringing an abrupt close to one of the crypto sector’s most anticipated deals.
Coinbase ends $2 billion pursuit of BVNK
The news, first reported by Fortune, signals a recalibration of strategy at the US exchange as competition heats up in the fast-growing stablecoin payments arena.
According to reports, Coinbase and Mastercard had both expressed strong interest in acquiring BVNK, whose technology enables businesses to embed stablecoins into payment flows.
The US exchange ultimately entered exclusive talks with the London-headquartered firm, but discussions have since ended without agreement.
“After discussing a potential acquisition of BVNK, both parties mutually agreed not to move forward,” a Coinbase spokesperson confirmed to Decrypt.
BVNK declined to comment.
A Missed Opportunity—or a Strategic Pivot?
BVNK raised $50 million in December 2024 at a $750 million valuation, attracting high-profile investors including Visa, which took a strategic stake earlier this year.
A $2 billion acquisition would have represented a substantial premium, outstripping Stripe’s $1.1 billion purchase of stablecoin platform Bridge last October—one of the largest crypto infrastructure deals to date.
Industry analysts had viewed the proposed transaction as a potential “vertical integration” move for Coinbase, combining its stake in Circle, issuer of the USDC stablecoin, with BVNK’s enterprise payment network.
Such a combination could have positioned Coinbase to control both issuance and distribution of stablecoins across global corporate channels.
Stablecoin Market Matures Amid Slower Growth Outlook
Coinbase’s withdrawal comes amid a booming but increasingly competitive stablecoin sector. The total market capitalisation of stablecoins has expanded by more than $120 billion over the past year to around $305 billion, according to DeFiLlama.
Still, near-term forecasts appear cautious. Prediction platform Myriad Markets places just a 20% probability on total market cap reaching $360 billion by February 2026.
Coinbase continues to expand its presence in tokenised finance, recently acquiring fundraising platform Echo and launching a new stablecoin payments system.
While the BVNK deal may have faltered, the exchange’s ambitions to dominate digital money infrastructure clearly have not.
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