How Jesse Hemson-Struthers Built BVNK Into Mastercard’s $1.8B Rail

Jesse Hemson-Struthers co-founded BVNK in 2021 and led the London-based company until Mastercard completed its purchase of the firm for up to $1.8 billion on August 3, 2026. The transaction converts BVNK’s on-chain settlement rails into payments infrastructure owned by a major card network.

Mastercard announced a definitive agreement on March 17, 2026 for up to $1.8 billion, including $300 million in contingent payments tied to future performance or milestones. The acquisition closed on August 3, ahead of the year-end timetable previously indicated by the companies.

BVNK offers an infrastructure layer that lets enterprises hold, move, manage and convert value between fiat currencies and stablecoins. Its platform links blockchain settlement rails to traditional payment systems and supports cross-border B2B transfers, remittances, payouts, settlement and treasury flows.

BVNK completed an all-equity Series B in December 2024 that raised about $50 million, led by Haun Ventures with participation from Coinbase Ventures and other existing backers. Reporting around that round cited a valuation near $750 million; that figure is an attributed estimate rather than a primary-company disclosure.

Close-period reporting attributes higher payment volumes and regulatory permissions to BVNK than were listed in Mastercard’s primary close notice. Secondary accounts place BVNK’s annualized stablecoin payment volume near $30 billion across roughly 130 markets and note more than two dozen regulatory permissions, including authorization under the Markets in Crypto-Assets framework in February 2026 and connectivity to SEPA euro rails. Named enterprise customers appearing in reporting include payment and payout firms such as Worldpay, Deel, Rapyd and Flywire. Mastercard’s official close announcement did not list volumes, license counts or client names; those figures should be treated as attributed estimates.

BVNK’s customer communication following the close stated that existing clients would retain the same teams, products and integrations and that no immediate action was required. The companies have not published detailed integration plans or a timetable for product alignment, and any required regulatory approvals were not disclosed in the close statement.

In the March announcement Hemson-Struthers described the agreement as one that “brings together complementary capabilities to define and deliver the future of money.” Mastercard’s chief product officer, Jorn Lambert, highlighted interoperability across fiat, stablecoins and tokenized deposits in the company’s statement at close.

The acquisition follows a pattern in payments where larger networks or processors buy specialized on-chain infrastructure providers. Financial terms disclosed at close include the initial purchase price component and a $300 million contingent component tied to future results; additional details on the contingent metrics were not published.