Citi Ventures, the corporate venture capital and innovation arm of Citigroup, has announced a strategic investment in BVNK, a leading global platform specializing in stablecoin infrastructure.
Arvind Purushotham, Head of Citi Ventures, highlighted the growing use of stablecoins for settlements and on-chain transactions, commending BVNK’s proven capabilities.
Speaking on the investment, he said,
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 19 (Feb 9 – May 2, 2026): big discounts for early bird.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
Register for Tekedia AI Lab: From Technical Design to Deployment (next edition begins Jan 24 2026).
“Stablecoins are seeing increased interest in use for settlement of on-chain and crypto asset transactions. We were impressed by BVNK’s enterprise-grade infrastructure and their proven track record”.
Although Citi did not reveal the investment amount or BVNK’s current valuation, co-founder Chris Harmse in an interview with CNBC disclosed the company is now worth more than the $750 million reported in its last funding round.
Through this investment, BVNK will collaborate with Citi to strengthen the link between traditional finance and the emerging digital financial system. BVNK’s technology operates as a global payments rail, enabling users to move funds seamlessly between fiat currencies and stablecoins.
The platform allows businesses to pay suppliers, contractors, and merchants across borders while offering full-stack solutions for stablecoin adoption. BVNK currently processes over $20 billion annually for global enterprises and payment providers, powering companies such as Worldpay, Flywire, and dLocal.
Also commenting on the investment, BVNK CEO Jesse Hemson-Struthers noted that Citi’s investment will advance the company’s mission to accelerate global money movement. This latest funding follows previous investments from Visa, Haun Ventures, Tiger Global, and other prominent backers.
Citi’s investment in BVNK comes amid growing regulatory clarity around stablecoins, with initiatives such as the GENIUS Act in the United States paving the way for banks to issue stablecoins.
This has also seen major financial institutions increasingly embrace the digital asset. JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citi, and Wells Fargo are reportedly exploring a joint stablecoin project, while BNY Mellon experiments with tokenized deposits and HSBC has already launched a tokenized deposit service.
Recently, The Bank of England adopted a more open stance toward stablecoins, amid calls to ease regulation. In a report by Bloomberg, the UK central bank plans to grant exemptions to proposed limits on Stablecoin holdings by businesses, indicating a softening stance toward crypto assets amid growing competition from the US.
Stablecoins digital assets pegged to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar or euro have become a cornerstone of the modern financial ecosystem. In 2025, the total stablecoin market capitalization surpassed $300 billion, with forecasts from Standard Chartered projecting it could reach $2.8 trillion by 2028.
Driven by institutional adoption, regulatory progress, and expanding real-world use cases, stablecoins are redefining global payments, cross-border settlements, and decentralized finance (DeFi) marking a new era in the convergence of traditional and digital finance.
Interestingly, Stablecoins will play a transformative role in emerging economies, particularly in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, where currency volatility and limited banking access persist.
With regulatory clarity improving across major economies, banks are likely to integrate stablecoins into their existing payment infrastructure. Notably, as infrastructure matures, stablecoins are poised to become a core component of global finance, ushering in an era of faster, programmable, and inclusive money movement