Three South African tech entrepreneurs become instant billionaires

Three South African tech entrepreneurs who founded BVNK became instant billionaires after selling the company to Mastercard for R30 billion.

BVNK was founded by three well-known South African entrepreneurs, Jesse Hemson-Struthers, Donald Jackson, and Chris Harmse.

It is an enterprise-grade stablecoin and digital payments infrastructure platform that enables businesses to send, receive, and hold stablecoins.

By linking blockchain technology with banking networks, BVNK facilitates fast cross-border payments, merchant payment processing, and digital asset custody.

The company has made tremendous strides in the crypto space over the last few months and has partnered with top financial firms.

In January 2026, BVNK announced that it would power Visa Direct, Visa’s $1.7 trillion real-time payments network, with stablecoin payments.

Last month, BVNK secured its CASP (Crypto-Asset Service Provider) licence from the MFSA (Malta Financial Services Authority).

This licence allows it to offer digital asset services across all EEA member states from its base in Malta, where it is authorised as an e-money institution.

To create this platform, BVNK has had a few funding rounds in which it raised over $100 million. Many of the world’s best-known investors participated.

Its Series A investors include Tiger Global Management, The Raba Partnership, Avenir, Kingsway Capital, Nordstar, Concentric, and Base Capital.

The Series B funding round in December 2024, which raised $50 million, included Haun Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, DRW Venture Capital, and Scribble Ventures.

In 2025, Visa and Citi Ventures became strategic investors, signaling a major validation of BVNK’s on-chain payment rails by traditional payment giants.

Despite the funding rounds and investments, the three founders retained a substantial portion of the equity.

However, as BVNK is a private company, the exact percentages of Hemson-Struthers, Jackson, and Harmse’s shareholdings are not known.

$1.8 billion Mastercard deal

This week, Mastercard announced that it will acquire BVNK for up to $1.8 billion (R30 billion), including $300 million in contingent payments.

The acquisition adds to Mastercard’s recent commitments, such as the Mastercard Crypto Partner Program.

“It fosters more collaboration and innovation to maximize the opportunity in the next phase of on-chain payments for all involved,” it said.

“The BVNK platform enables sending and receiving payments for its customers on all major blockchain networks across 130 countries.”

BVNK co-founder and CEO, Jesse Hemson-Struthers, said they have only scratched the surface of what’s possible.

“This deal brings together complementary capabilities to define and deliver the future of money,” he said.

“Together, we’re able to deliver an unprecedented infrastructure for digital currency-based financial services.”

He said that the Mastercard deal allows them to scale stablecoin infrastructure across currencies, payment rails, and geographies.

“This partnership will enable us to accelerate our mission in ways that we never could have alone,” he said.

Even after the deal closes, BVNK will continue to operate with the independence it needs to execute on its roadmap with focus and speed.

The combined activities of Mastercard and BVNK would deliver a digital asset- and chain-agnostic approach.

This will allow their customers to access the solutions best suited to their needs, without being locked into closed ecosystems.

“Our customers will gain access to new capabilities, including broader global reach and advanced settlement capabilities powered by Mastercard,” he said.

The transaction, which is anticipated to close before the end of the year, is subject to regulatory review and other customary closing conditions.

Although the exact numbers have not been released, it is safe to assume that Hemson-Struthers, Jackson, and Harmse would become billionaires after the deal.

A 3.3% BVNK shareholding equates to R1 billion. It is likely that the founders maintained more equity than 3.3% after the funding rounds.

BVNK company photos