New Delhi, March 18 -- Mastercard has agreed to acquire stablecoin payments infrastructure firm BVNK for up to $1.8 billion, signalling an acceleration of the company's ambitions in blockchain-enabled financial services.

The acquisition underscores Mastercard's effort to extend beyond its core card-based business into digital asset infrastructure. As regulatory clarity around stablecoins improves and institutional adoption gathers pace, payment companies are increasingly investing in technologies that enable seamless movement between fiat and blockchain systems.

BVNK, founded in 2021, has developed infrastructure that allows businesses to send, receive and convert stablecoins across major blockchain networks in more than 130 countries. ...