Visa and Circle back stablecoin platform Velocity after losing BVNK to Mastercard

Velocity, a London-based stablecoin payments and treasury platform, closed a $10 million extension to its Series A round on September 15, bringing the total raised in the round to $48 million, according to a news release reported by PYMNTS. The extension values the company at $200 million, chief executive Eric Queathem told CoinDesk.

Visa Ventures joined as a new backer alongside Circle Ventures, Ripple, Haun Ventures, Translink Capital and Mirana Ventures. The round follows a $38 million Series A that Velocity disclosed on July 14, led by Dragonfly and FirstMark, with Ripple also participating in that earlier close.

“Stablecoins are playing an increasingly important role in reshaping” how value moves across its network, Rubail Birwadker, Visa’s global head of growth products and strategic partnerships, said of the investment, according to CoinGabbar.

Velocity builds backend infrastructure that lets banks, payment processors, card issuers, acquirers and merchants use stablecoins for settlement, liquidity management and treasury work without replacing the software and banking connections they already run, according to Crowdfund Insider. The investment follows a Visa Direct pilot involving Velocity and MVB Financial that tests stablecoin-enabled funding and settlement for certain payouts.

The deal fits a pattern in which Visa has looked to stablecoin infrastructure firms for partnerships after Mastercard completed its acquisition of BVNK in August, a deal worth up to $1.8 billion. Visa had previously taken a strategic stake in BVNK during its 2025 Series B round. Velocity’s funding announcement does not name a lead investor for the extension or disclose individual allocations, according to BigGo Finance, and Circle Ventures’ and Ripple’s participation does not by itself indicate which stablecoins, if any, Velocity’s products will support.

Velocity is headquartered in a market where the UK finalised new rules for qualifying stablecoins and crypto custody on June 30, with an application gateway opening on September 30 and the regime applying to authorised firms from October 25, 2027, according to BigGo Finance.