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

What Is BVNK?

BVNK provides stablecoin payment infrastructure for financial institutions and businesses.

The company was founded by South African entrepreneurs Jesse Hemson-Struthers, Donald Jackson and Chris Harmse, who previously worked together on crypto exchange CoinDirect.

BVNK now operates across more than 130 countries and has secured more than 25 licenses and regulatory approvals.

These include:

• Electronic Money Institution status in the U.K.
• U.S. money transmitter licenses
• Registration with FinCEN
• ISO 27001 certification
• SOC 2 Type II compliance

The company says its platform maintains 99.9% uptime.

BVNK's infrastructure allows businesses to integrate stablecoin payments without building the entire technology stack themselves.

Its products include:

• Embedded stablecoin wallets
• API-based virtual accounts
• Stablecoin payment infrastructure
• Cross-border settlement tools
• Connections between blockchain and traditional payment networks

BVNK can connect on-chain assets with systems including SWIFT, Fedwire and ACH.

Why Citi Invested in BVNK

Citi's investment reflects growing institutional interest in regulated stablecoin infrastructure.

Arvind Purushotham, Head of Citi Ventures, said Citi was impressed by BVNK's “enterprise-grade infrastructure” and its growing adoption among financial-services companies.

BVNK's customers and partners include:

• Worldpay
• Flywire
• dLocal

These companies use its infrastructure to support cross-border transactions and stablecoin settlements.

Harmse said improving regulatory clarity has triggered “an explosion of demand for building on top of stablecoin infrastructure.”

The investment also fits Citi's broader digital-asset strategy, which includes work around tokenized deposits and digital custody.

Stablecoin Regulation Drives Institutional Interest

Citi's investment comes as regulation around dollar-backed stablecoins develops in the United States.

The GENIUS Act has provided greater clarity around the oversight of dollar-backed digital assets, supporting institutional interest in regulated stablecoin payment infrastructure.

Large financial companies are increasingly assessing how stablecoins could reduce friction in areas such as:

• Cross-border payments
• Treasury management
• Settlement
• Foreign exchange
• Corporate payments
• Digital-asset services

Citi is not alone.

JPMorgan, BNY Mellon and HSBC are also exploring blockchain-based infrastructure for institutional payments and settlement.

The trend suggests traditional banks increasingly view stablecoin technology as infrastructure that can operate alongside existing financial networks rather than simply as a crypto-native payment tool.

Citi Sees Stablecoins Reaching Up to $4 Trillion

Citi's own research highlights the potential scale of the market.

The bank projects that stablecoin supply could reach between $1.9 trillion and $4 trillion by 2030.

Citi expects U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins to remain dominant, accounting for roughly 90% of circulation.

The report also suggests stablecoin issuers could become some of the largest holders of U.S. Treasuries by the end of the decade.

That would create a closer link between the stablecoin market and traditional financial markets, particularly the market for U.S. government debt.

BVNK Builds Around Compliance

BVNK has positioned regulatory compliance as a core part of its business.

Its systems include:

• Machine-learning transaction monitoring
• KYC and AML procedures
• An internal financial intelligence unit
• Regulatory reporting tools
• Enterprise security controls

The company primarily serves businesses processing at least €500,000 per month.

Customers can choose between fully managed payment services and more customized integrations.

This approach differs from earlier crypto companies that often prioritized user growth before building extensive compliance infrastructure.

For BVNK, regulatory readiness is central to attracting banks, fintech companies and other large financial institutions.

BVNK Transaction Volume Doubles

BVNK said its transaction volume has doubled over the past year.

The company now processes more than $20 billion annually as more businesses experiment with stablecoins for global payments and settlement.

Stablecoins can allow companies to move value across blockchain networks without relying entirely on traditional correspondent banking systems.

Businesses may use them to reduce:

• Cross-border payment delays
• Settlement friction
• Foreign-exchange costs
• Dependence on banking hours

However, BVNK has not disclosed detailed revenue or profitability figures.

That means its $750 million-plus valuation reflects investor expectations around future demand as well as its current transaction scale and institutional partnerships.

Visa, Coinbase and Other Investors Back BVNK

Citi joins several major investors that previously backed BVNK.

Existing investors include:

• Visa Ventures
• Tiger Global
• Haun Ventures
• Coinbase

BVNK had raised roughly $90 million before Citi's investment.

The investor mix reflects growing competition among banks, payment companies and crypto businesses for exposure to regulated stablecoin infrastructure.

Market reports have also linked BVNK to possible acquisition interest.

Coinbase and Mastercard were reportedly among companies exploring a potential $2 billion takeover.

No acquisition had been confirmed.

Why Stablecoin Infrastructure Is Attracting Banks

Stablecoins were initially associated mainly with cryptocurrency trading. Their use is now expanding into financial infrastructure.

For institutions, the technology can connect traditional financial systems with blockchain settlement.

A platform such as BVNK provides the middle layer.

Instead of requiring a business to build wallets, compliance systems, payment APIs and blockchain connectivity from scratch, BVNK packages those functions into enterprise infrastructure.

That can support use cases such as:

• Sending stablecoins internationally
• Receiving stablecoin payments
• Converting between fiat and digital assets
• Creating embedded digital wallets
• Managing blockchain-based settlement
• Connecting on-chain payments with banking networks

This infrastructure model is becoming more attractive as financial institutions seek blockchain exposure without operating entirely outside regulated financial systems.