BVNK's $50M Raise & Layer1's Vision: Season 1 Finale + 2025 Kickoff

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope 2025 is off to an incredible start for all of you.

We're closing out Season 1 of stableminded with perfect timing - right after BVNK announces their $50M funding round led by Haun Ventures, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Tiger Global, and other major players.

The timing couldn't be more significant.

With the stablecoin market now processing $25 trillion, stablecoin marketcap crossing $200 billion and BVNK expanding their U.S. presence with new offices in San Francisco and New York, it's clear that stablecoin infrastructure is entering a new phase of growth.

That's why I'm particularly excited to share Episode 7 of stableminded, where Drew sits down with Johannes Kaske, Managing Director of Layer1 by BVNK.

_{DISCLAIMER: This podcast + newsletter is made in collaboration with Layer1 by BVNK and is therefore sponsored. All editorial decisions, opinions, and conclusions expressed are entirely those of our own and remain independent of any external influence.}

THE QUIET BUILDERS OF
STABLECOIN INFRASTRUCTURE

When I think about the companies quietly building the future of stablecoin payments, Layer1 by BVNK stands out. Remember Bridge? A year ago, their website was mysterious - just enough information to spark interest. Today, they're being acquired by Stripe for $1.1B.

This pattern of quiet infrastructure builders becoming massive success stories is why this conversation with Johannes is so timely. His experience from Metaco (acquired by Ripple) to now leading Layer1 gives him unique insight into what enterprises actually need.

In this episode, Johannes breaks down:

• How Layer1 abstracts complex blockchain operations - from gas management to asset pooling

• Why Payment Service Providers (PSPs) are the perfect first users for stablecoin infrastructure

• The evolution of regulatory frameworks enabling enterprise adoption

• BVNK's journey from building internal infrastructure to launching Layer1

What stands out most? The focus on real problems faced by PSPs and enterprises trying to scale stablecoin payments.

Take gas management for example. Every time you move stablecoins on a blockchain, you need to pay that small fee to validators. Now imagine being a PSP processing thousands of transactions daily across multiple chains. Suddenly, optimizing these fees becomes critical to your bottom line.

Layer1 solves this through intelligent asset pooling and fee optimization - taking lessons learned from BVNK's years of processing payments at scale.

These infrastructure lessons weren't learned overnight. BVNK spent years fine-tuning these systems, processing billions in payment volume and working with enterprises across the globe. Now they're packaging those battle-tested solutions into Layer1.

MOMENTUM MEETS OPPORTUNITY

The timing couldn't be better.

Haun Ventures' Diogo Mónica notes, "The promise of crypto has long been to build faster, fairer, and more inclusive financial systems." With BVNK's partnerships with PayPal, Circle, and First Digital, plus their expansion into the U.S. market, we're seeing that promise become reality.

Layer1 is the infrastructure making these new rails accessible to businesses everywhere.

What excites me most about Layer1? They're taking all the complexities BVNK solved internally - regulatory compliance, banking relationships, blockchain operations - and packaging it into a solution other companies can build on. With fresh capital and growing institutional backing, they're perfectly positioned to help PSPs and enterprises navigate this transition.

Whether you're a PSP looking to add stablecoin capabilities or an enterprise exploring blockchain infrastructure, this episode delivers crucial insights into what's needed to scale stablecoin payments.

As Johannes puts it, "2025 is all about building, about driving adoption by actually innovating and driving adoption by user experience."

Follow Layer1 on X: layer1payments
Follow Layer1 on Linkedin: Layer1
Watch the full episode on YouTube

STABLEMINDED RECAP

• Season 1 finale drops today with Johannes Kaske of Layer1 by BVNK - All episodes streaming now on Youtube and Spotify!

• BVNK announces $50M raise led by Haun Ventures

• The end of 2025 saw the stablecoin marketcap cross $200 billion

• Season 2: "A Worldview of Stablecoins" kicks off next week supported by Mural Pay

• Stable Society hoodies - use code "STAYSTABLE20" for 20% off. Only 100 available, claim yours before they're gone "(pre-orders end SOON!)

• Stay tuned for exciting announcements about our stablecoin [redacted] and stablecoin IRL events heading into 2025!

_{DISCLAIMER: *The content of this newsletter is for information purposes only and does constitute financial, investment or legal advice. Always consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any decisions based on the information discussed in this newsletter This content reflects the authors personal views and has not undergone detailed verification by a research team. While I aim for accuracy, these are thoughtful opinions open to reevaluation. Some citations may be incomplete or absent; I’ll make every effort to provide updates and corrections to the live version as needed.}