Mastercard expands crypto effort, buying BVNK

Behind the scenes: BVNK held takeover talks last year with both Mastercard and Coinbase, but seemed to be further along with Coinbase before the crypto exchange bailed in late fall. Mastercard, meanwhile, briefly kicked tires on BVNK rival Zerohash.

• One possibility is that Coinbase was more worried about revenue than is Mastercard, which primarily wants the technology.

ROI: BVNK had raised around $100 million from Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, Tiger Global, Visa Ventures, DRW Venture Capital, Avenir, and Scribble Ventures.

The bottom line: Mastercard isn't just partnering with crypto, it's buying its way into the stack to avoid being disintermediated.