Polygon Commits $250M To Acquire Coinme And Sequence For US Payments Push

Polygon Labs has acquired cryptocurrency exchange Coinme and wallet infrastructure provider Sequence in deals totaling more than $250 million, aiming to build a regulated stablecoin payments platform in the United States. The acquisitions give Polygon licensed fiat on-ramps, enterprise wallets, and cross-chain payment tools.

The deals were signed Tuesday and confirmed by Polygon Labs executives Marc Boiron and Sandeep Nailwal in interviews with Fortune and Reuters. Polygon declined to break out individual deal values or confirm whether payments were made in cash, equity, or a combination.

Why Did Polygon Acquire Coinme And Sequence?

Polygon’s acquisitions are designed to support a shift toward stablecoin-based payments rather than relying mainly on blockchain usage driven by token incentives. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged to assets like the US dollar and are increasingly used for payments, remittances, and treasury operations.

The core reasons behind the acquisitions include:

• Gaining regulated access to US fiat payment rails
• Owning wallet infrastructure rather than depending on partners
• Generating predictable revenue from transaction fees
• Competing directly with fintech firms building stablecoin stacks

Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron said the goal is to become a regulated US payments player. Instead of focusing only on POL token adoption, Polygon now aims to earn basis points on transactions processed through its network and services.

What Is Coinme And Why Does It Matter?

Coinme is one of the earliest licensed digital currency exchanges in the United States. Founded in 2014, the Seattle-based firm specializes in converting cash into crypto and vice versa, operating under a wide set of regulatory approvals.

Coinme’s key assets include:

• Money transmitter licenses in 48 US states
• Registration with FinCEN
• Access to more than 50,000 retail locations
• Partnerships with Coinstar, MoneyGram, ReadyCode ATMs, and retail checkouts

Coinme serves more than one million retail users and also provides white-label crypto services to fintech firms and enterprises. These services allow third parties to offer crypto buying, selling, and custody without building compliance systems from scratch.

For Polygon, Coinme delivers regulated fiat on-ramps and off-ramps, which are essential for stablecoins to function as everyday payment tools in the US.

How Does Sequence Fit Into Polygon’s Strategy?

Sequence is a New York-based blockchain infrastructure company focused on smart wallets and cross-chain user experiences. Its technology is designed to remove complexity from onchain transactions.

Sequence’s core products include:

• Embedded smart wallets for applications
• Enterprise-grade wallet infrastructure
• Trails, a cross-chain orchestration layer

Trails allows users to complete cross-chain transactions with one click, without managing bridges, swaps, or gas fees. According to the company, Trails has processed more than 10 million transactions since launching two months ago and delivers double the transaction conversion rates of standard wallets.

Polygon plans to use Sequence to reduce friction for users and businesses interacting with stablecoins across multiple blockchains.

How Big Was The Deal Really?

Polygon Labs said the total purchase price for Coinme and Sequence exceeded $250 million. CoinDesk reported that Coinme was acquired for between $100 million and $125 million, implying a higher valuation for Sequence.

Marc Boiron pushed back strongly on that reporting, stating that most details in the CoinDesk article were incorrect. Polygon has not disclosed final numbers, leaving deal structure and valuation breakdowns undisclosed.

Despite the lack of detail, the scale of the acquisition marks one of Polygon’s largest strategic moves to date.

What Is The Open Money Stack?

Polygon describes the combined platform as the “Open Money Stack.” It is designed to make stablecoins function more like real-world money at scale.

The Open Money Stack combines:

• Coinme’s regulated US fiat on- and off-ramps
• Sequence’s wallet and cross-chain orchestration tools
• Polygon’s Ethereum-based blockchain infrastructure

Together, these components aim to support compliant conversion between fiat and stablecoins, seamless cross-chain payments, and fast settlement without exposing users to blockchain complexity.

How Does The Open Money Stack Work In Practice?

In practical terms, the Open Money Stack allows banks, fintechs, merchants, and enterprises to move money onchain without dealing directly with wallets, gas fees, or bridges.

Key capabilities include:

• Instant fiat-to-stablecoin conversion through licensed channels
• Embedded wallets inside apps rather than separate wallet downloads
• Cross-chain payments handled automatically in the background
• Settlement on Polygon with Ethereum-level security

For example, a US-based fintech could let users pay with stablecoins at checkout, settle funds onchain in seconds, and convert balances back to dollars through Coinme’s licensed rails.

How Does Regulation Shape Polygon’s Payments Push?

Regulation plays a central role in Polygon’s strategy. Coinme operates in 48 states under money transmitter licenses and is registered with FinCEN, giving Polygon a compliance footprint most crypto networks lack.

Coinme has faced regulatory scrutiny in the past. In 2025, California and Washington regulators cited the firm for compliance failures related to daily transaction limits at affiliated crypto ATMs. Washington later stayed a cease-and-desist order.

Boiron said Coinme’s compliance systems exceed regulatory requirements, pointing to backend controls designed to limit user risk.

This regulatory positioning becomes more important following the passage of the GENIUS Act in July 2025, which introduced federal rules for stablecoins in the US.

Polygon to Compete With Stripe and PayPal

Polygon’s move puts it in direct competition with major fintech firms.

Stripe has acquired a stablecoin startup, a crypto wallet firm, and backed its own payments-focused blockchain called Tempo. Stripe’s strategy focuses on owning the entire stablecoin stack, from infrastructure to settlement.

Sandeep Nailwal described Polygon’s approach as a reverse of Stripe’s. Polygon already operates blockchain infrastructure and is now acquiring regulated and wallet layers to build on top.

PayPal launched its own stablecoin, PYUSD, in 2023 and expanded it beyond Ethereum to Solana in 2024. Like Polygon, PayPal is focused on making stablecoins usable in real payment flows.

Why Is Polygon Shifting Away From Token-Driven Growth?

Historically, Polygon’s growth depended heavily on token incentives and external partners. Network usage often rose and fell with market cycles rather than real economic demand.

The new strategy focuses on revenue generation through transaction fees. Polygon is targeting more than $100 million in annual revenue from payments activity rather than relying on POL token appreciation.

Combined, Polygon, Coinme, and Sequence have processed:

• Over $1 billion in off-chain sales
• More than $2 trillion in onchain value transfers

What Does This Mean For Developers And Businesses?

For developers, the acquisitions reduce the need to piece together wallets, compliance providers, and bridges. Polygon now offers a more complete payments stack.

Benefits include:

• Faster integration for stablecoin payments
• Reduced regulatory burden through licensed partners
• Better user experience with embedded wallets
• Access to cross-chain liquidity without custom tooling

For businesses, this lowers the cost and complexity of adopting stablecoins for payments, payroll, and settlement.

Conclusion

Polygon’s acquisition of Coinme and Sequence marks a shift from token-focused blockchain infrastructure toward a regulated payments business. By combining licensed US fiat rails, enterprise wallet infrastructure, and blockchain settlement, Polygon is building a stablecoin payments platform designed for real-world use. The move puts Polygon in direct competition with fintech firms, while shifting revenue toward transaction fees instead of token-driven growth.

Resources 

1. Polygon on X: Posts in January, 2026

2. Report by Fortune 1: Polygon Labs buys two crypto startups for $250 million as it looks to compete with Stripe

3. Report by Fortune 2: Exclusive: Stripe-backed blockchain startup Tempo raises $500 million round led by Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital and Greenoaks

4. Report by CoinTelegraph: Polygon strikes $250M deal for Coinme and Sequence in stablecoin payments push