“They came to us highly recommended by an alumni CEO that we had already backed,” Rist told CoinDesk in an interview. “So, there was a lot of trust there, and this CEO said, ‘You got to meet these guys’. They were serial entrepreneurs coming out of South Africa. They’d never built businesses outside of South Africa, but they were hungry. They were relentless.”
Despite enjoying a sturdy exit, Rist said he feels mixed emotions toward the Mastercard acquisition, having been part of the whole BVNK journey. “It’s actually sad to sign the papers, almost like sending your son off to boarding school,” he said.
Chris Harmse, co-founder and chief business officer at BVNK echoed this: “It’s been an incredible journey,” he said in an email. “Concentric has been a valued partner throughout that journey.”
Stablecoins, one of the busiest areas of crypto, have become a focal point for the large card networks and payments…
