Coinbase in Talks to Acquire BVNK, Boosting Stablecoin Ambitions

The passage of the GENIUS Act in the United States has brought clear rules for stablecoins, including requirements for backing and measures to prevent money laundering. This development has renewed corporate interest in crypto-enabled payment systems, with Coinbase among the companies accelerating its efforts in the sector. The exchange’s stablecoin strategy has gained further attention following reports of a potential acquisition in this area.

Coinbase Moves to Acquire BVNK

According to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the discussions, Coinbase is in advanced talks to acquire BVNK, a startup providing technology that supports stablecoin operations, in a transaction valued at around $2 billion. Coinbase Ventures, the company’s venture capital division, already holds a stake in BVNK.

If completed, the acquisition could expand Coinbase’s sources of income beyond fees from cryptocurrency trading and is expected to close either later this year or in early next year.

Stablecoins as a Core Growth Driver

The focus on stablecoins is already reflected in Coinbase’s financials. In its Q3 report, the company highlighted stablecoin-related revenue of $246.9 million, describing the quarter as strong. The exchange emphasized that it sees “payments as crypto’s next big use case, with stablecoins offering a new payments channel enabling faster, cheaper, global transactions that are well suited for agentic commerce and micro payments.”

Building on this vision, the company is advancing initiatives to promote greater stablecoin adoption, a trend expected to continue as regulatory clarity improves and more financial institutions and corporations integrate these assets into payment and treasury operations.

The GENIUS Act has played a role in this development by establishing clear guidelines for stablecoin backing and reinforcing compliance standards. Within this context, the proposed acquisition of BVNK reflects increasing corporate interest in the digital asset class following the act’s passage in July, highlighting the opportunities created by regulatory clarity.

Stablecoin Market Growth and Forecasts

This clear regulatory framework is reflected in the broader stablecoin market. Citi, which earlier described 2025 as blockchain’s “ChatGPT moment” driven by stablecoins, noted in its September analysis that adoption is growing at a rapid pace. The bank further revised its total stablecoin issuance forecasts to $1.9 trillion for the base case, an increase from $1.6 trillion, and $4.0 trillion for the bull case, rising from $3.7 trillion, reflecting robust growth over the past six months and a surge in new projects across the U.S. and other regions.

These revisions account for notable growth in the market during the past six months, along with numerous project developments announced both in the U.S. and internationally. Despite these projections, the current market capitalization of stablecoins is over $315 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.