Stablecoin adoption is getting closer to mainstream each day, as major payment players like Mastercard and Stripe enter the space along with crypto natives such as Coinbase or Coinflow. Let’s sum up what’s been happening in the stablecoin market for the last few days.
Mastercard and Coinbase Compete Over BVNK Acquisition
One of the biggest news stories discussed today is the Mastercard and Coinbase rivalry over a prospective deal to acquire stablecoin infrastructure startup BVNK. Media sources estimate future acquisition between $1,5 billion and $2,5 billion.
This record-setting deal would mark the largest stablecoin acquisition so far and serve as a clear illustration of the stablecoins’ further potential as a bridge between traditional financial infrastructure and blockchain-based digital assets.
BVNK offers a mix of regulated stablecoin infrastructure, multi-rail payments, compliance, and embedded wallet/API models. These make it a powerful building block for firms that want to enable fast, borderless payments globally, especially with stablecoins. That’s why larger players like Coinbase or Mastercard are interested: acquiring BVNK could give them foundational infrastructure and a competitive advantage in a payments landscape that’s rapidly evolving.
Earlier this year, BVNK secured investments from another payment industry giant, Visa, and partnered with Bitwave to bring regulated, real-time stablecoin payment infrastructure to large-scale enterprise finance teams.
Stripe Open Issuance Helps Businesses Launch and Manage Their Own Stablecoins
At its annual Stripe Tour New York, the fintech giant launched over 40 new products, one of them being Open Issuance —a platform that lets businesses launch their own stablecoin in days.
Built on infrastructure from Bridge, the stablecoin startup Stripe acquired in 2024, Open Issuance allows companies to mint and manage coins backed by reserves held with partners like BlackRock, Fidelity, and Lead Bank, while earning yield from their holdings. Early adopters include Phantom’s CASH and upcoming coins from Metamask and Hyperliquid.
Coinflow Secures $25M Series A to Accelerate Global Stablecoin Payments Infrastructure
Coinflow, a global payment startup that merges the use of stablecoins with AI-driven fraud prevention and blockchain proof-of-delivery, has closed a $25 million Series A funding round to expand its stablecoin-based pay-in and payout infrastructure worldwide.
Since its 2024 seed round, Coinflow has achieved a 23-fold revenue increase and extended coverage to over 170 countries, serving clients in marketplaces, fintech, gaming, payroll, remittance, and e-commerce. The Series A funding will support expansion of global payout coverage to more than 100 countries, with a focus on Asia and Latin America, while enhancing payout liquidity, transaction approval rates, and product capabilities.
Global Stablecoin Market Stance
All these developments come at a time when we witness a 57% annual growth in global stablecoin supply and increasingly larger-scale attempts to move the technology “from experimental to mainstream.” As of early October, the global stablecoin market has surpassed $300 billion in market capitalization, marking a significant milestone in its growth trajectory. The expansion of stablecoins is also evident in their growing utilization for cross-border transactions, with stablecoins now surpassing unbacked cryptocurrencies in cross-border flows.
As the stablecoin market matures, USDT (Tether), the world’s largest stablecoin by market cap, reportedly targets $500 billion valuation, conducting talks regarding private fundraise between $15 billion and $20 billion.
