Citi Deepens On-Chain Settlement Push with Investment in Stablecoin Firm BVNK

Major banks accelerate digital-asset adoption as Citi backs $750M-valued BVNK

TL;DR:

• Citi Ventures has invested in BVNK, a stablecoin payments firm valued at over $750 million.
• BVNK processes more than $20 billion annually and operates across 130+ countries.
• The move aligns with Citi’s forecast of stablecoins growing into a $4 trillion market by 2030.

Citi Ventures has joined the growing list of major financial institutions expanding their foothold in the blockchain economy, investing in BVNK — a London-based stablecoin infrastructure firm processing over $20 billion in annual payments. The investment, announced on October 9, 2025, marks a pivotal step in Citi’s broader effort to bridge traditional finance with on-chain settlement systems, though the size of its stake remains undisclosed. BVNK’s latest valuation now exceeds $750 million, according to co-founder Chris Harmse, reflecting surging institutional demand for regulated stablecoin rails amid shifting crypto price dynamics and the rising global coin market cap.

BVNK, founded by South African entrepreneurs Jesse Hemson-Struthers, Donald Jackson, and Chris Harmse — previously the team behind crypto exchange CoinDirect — has quietly positioned itself as one of the leading enterprise-grade stablecoin platforms. The company holds more than 25 licenses and regulatory approvals, including Electronic Money Institution (EMI) status in the U.K. and U.S. money transmitter licenses registered with FinCEN. It supports operations in over 130 countries and provides modular infrastructure enabling embedded stablecoin wallets, API-based virtual accounts, and integrated payment channels that connect on-chain assets with legacy systems such as SWIFT, Fedwire, and ACH. BVNK reports a 99.9 percent uptime and compliance certifications under ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II, underscoring its enterprise reliability.

Citi’s investment arrives as large banks pivot toward stablecoin-based settlements following regulatory developments like the GENIUS Act in the U.S., which clarifies oversight of dollar-backed digital assets. Arvind Purushotham, Head of Citi Ventures, said the bank was impressed by BVNK’s “enterprise-grade infrastructure” and growing adoption among financial service providers. The firm’s partners include Worldpay, Flywire, and dLocal — companies using its infrastructure to manage cross-border transactions with faster settlement and lower friction than legacy payment networks. Harmse noted that regulatory clarity has triggered “an explosion of demand for building on top of stablecoin infrastructure,” positioning BVNK to capture a rising share of institutional flows now tracking against both fiat settlement speeds and the wider crypto price index.

Previous backers of BVNK include Visa Ventures, Tiger Global, Haun Ventures, and Coinbase, bringing total prior funding to roughly $90 million before Citi’s entry. Industry observers see the move as an extension of Citi’s broader crypto strategy, which already includes digital custody experiments and tokenized deposit pilots. The bank joins peers like JPMorgan, BNY Mellon, and HSBC, all exploring blockchain-based infrastructure for institutional payments. Citi’s latest market research projects the stablecoin sector could reach $1.9 trillion to $4 trillion by 2030, driven largely by USD-denominated assets expected to maintain roughly 90 percent dominance in circulation. The forecast also suggests stablecoin issuers could become among the largest holders of U.S. Treasuries by the decade’s end — a scenario where regulated tokens effectively complement sovereign debt markets while influencing macro-liquidity trends reflected in the global coin market cap.

BVNK’s compliance-first approach contrasts with earlier generations of crypto startups that prioritized growth over regulation. The company’s proprietary machine-learning models for transaction monitoring, internal financial intelligence unit, and layered KYC/AML procedures are designed to meet the standards expected by Tier 1 banks and fintech partners. It serves businesses processing at least €500,000 per month and offers flexible deployment options ranging from fully managed payments to self-hosted integrations. The platform has doubled transaction volumes over the past year as more corporates adopt stablecoin settlements to hedge against foreign-exchange costs and volatility in traditional remittance channels.

While BVNK has not disclosed its revenue or profitability metrics, the scale of institutional partnerships signals growing trust in hybrid fiat-crypto payment models. Citi’s stake reinforces a shift across traditional banking toward regulated blockchain rails that coexist with sovereign currency systems. Market chatter around potential acquisitions — including reports of Coinbase and Mastercard exploring a $2 billion takeover — highlights how competition for compliant infrastructure providers has intensified alongside evolving crypto price movements. BVNK’s message following the deal was clear: the partnership with Citi “reinforces our mission to accelerate the global movement of money,” capturing the tone of a sector increasingly seen as foundational to future financial plumbing.

Citi’s participation in this round signals that stablecoins have graduated from niche payment tools to a core component of global finance. The move aligns with a broader banking narrative where tokenized money, regulated digital assets, and on-chain settlements converge — a trend mirrored by steady growth in the overall crypto price index even amid market fluctuations. Whether BVNK’s expansion will cement its role as a go-to provider for enterprise-grade stablecoin infrastructure remains to be seen, but its trajectory reflects the larger transformation of money’s architecture: one increasingly defined by interoperability between crypto rails and traditional banking networks.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.