Long before big-ticket crypto deals and billion-dollar acquisitions make headlines, there’s a long and hard-fought journey, often culminating in a secretive contest where jockeying suitors bid, bluff or walk, until eventually the best match makes it down the aisle. Mastercard’s recent $1.8 billion acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure firm BVNK was no exception.
It’s a process that takes place out of view, under iron-clad non-disclosure agreements, but venture capital firm Concentric — an early investor in BVNK — gave CoinDesk a rare peek behind the curtain, beginning with the startup’s rise and ending with the completion of the deal earlier this week.
The venture capital business is a numbers game. In the case of BVNK, Concentric’s bet paid off: the VC firm backed the stablecoin startup in 2019 at a valuation of just $4 million. Founding partner of Concentric, Kjartan Rist, recalled being introduced to BVNK in 2018.
“They came to us highly recommended by an alumni CEO that we had already backed,” Rist told CoinDesk in an interview. “So, there was a lot of trust there, and this CEO said, ‘You got to meet these guys’. They were serial entrepreneurs coming out of South Africa. They’d never built businesses outside of South Africa, but they were hungry. They were relentless.”
Despite enjoying a sturdy exit, Rist said he feels mixed emotions toward the Mastercard acquisition, having been part of the whole BVNK journey. “It’s actually sad to sign the papers, almost like sending your son off to boarding school,” he said.
Chris Harmse, co-founder and chief business officer at BVNK echoed this: “It's been an incredible journey,” he said in an email. “Concentric has been a valued partner throughout that journey.”
Stablecoins, one of the busiest areas of crypto, have become a focal point for the large card networks and payments players. The total stablecoin market cap is about $300 billion, according to CoinGecko data.
The proverbial cat was set loose among the pigeons when Stripe acquired stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge in late 2024 for $1.1 billion. This probably put pressure on the likes of Visa and Mastercard to start kicking the tires of other stablecoin shops so as not to be outflanked by Stripe’s aggressive approach.
Mastercard has the deepest respect for Stripe, Rist of Concentric said. “I think that's another way of saying that they're looking over their shoulder. So they are aware of the competitive threat that is coming from Stripe because of the way they execute, the simplicity in their offering and the lack of legacy they have,” he said.
During the cut and thrust of the deal formation, U.S.-listed crypto exchange Coinbase was reported to have had the upper hand at one point, potentially offering as much as $2.5 billion for BVNK. But something changed, which was to do with chemistry, according to Rist.
“The founders, when choosing a partner or choosing someone to buy them, emphasize a lot on the culture and the chemistry,” Rist said. “And the chemistry with Coinbase — although they probably put a bigger number on the table — it didn't work.”
This came down to the fact that Coinbase is an exchange, while Mastercard is a financial services company, Rist added.
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