Capital One bank buys stablecoin fintech Brex for $5.15B

Major US bank Capital One has struck a $5.15 billion deal to buy the fintech Brex and is set to acquire the companys stablecoin payments solution.

Capital One said on Thursday that the deal is a combination of stock and cash transaction and is expected to close in mid-2026.

“Since our founding, we set out to build a payments company at the frontier of the technology revolution,” said Capital Ones founder and CEO, Richard Fairbank. “Acquiring Brex accelerates this journey, especially in the business payments marketplace.”

The deal is one of the largest fintech acquisitions in recent years and is set to fold the stablecoin-friendly startup into one of the largest financial institutions in the US, as traditional finance is seeking ways to break into crypto.

A potential move into stablecoins

In October, Brex announced it would become the first global corporate card provider to offer native stablecoin payments, starting with USDC.

Related: Interactive Brokers to allow stablecoins for account funding

Brex founder and CEO Pedro Franceschi wrote on X that he would continue to lead the company and the two firms would “be able to move faster, invest more deeply, and bring more powerful capabilities to businesses than either of us could alone.”

“This story is about growth acceleration, and two founder-led companies coming together to bring a better way to manage money to millions of businesses in the mainstream US economy, who are dramatically underserved by traditional banks,” he added.

Stablecoins have become a hot topic in TradFi circles since Congress passed key regulations for the tokens last year.

The stablecoin market capitalization has increased by 18.6% to a record $314 billion since the passage of the GENIUS Act in July 2025, according to CoinGecko.

Stablecoins have seen sustained growth while other crypto sectors have declined. Source: CoinGecko