Polygon Labs acquisitions reshape stablecoin and payments race against Stripe

In a bid to expand its footprint in crypto payments, Polygon Labs acquisitions are signaling a strategic shift toward full-stack fintech and stablecoin infrastructure.

Polygon Labs moves to buy Coinme and Sequence

Polygon Labs, the blockchain developer behind one of the leading Ethereum scaling networks, has agreed to proceed with two acquisitions of the crypto startups Coinme and Sequence for a combined price of more than $250 million. However, the company has not disclosed how much it paid for each firm, or whether the consideration was in cash, equity, or a mix of both.

The deals are designed to accelerate the network’s stablecoin strategy, according to Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron and Polygon Foundation founder Sandeep Nailwal. Moreover, the acquisitions also deepen Polygon’s presence in both consumer-facing crypto services and core infrastructure.

Seattle-based Coinme specializes in converting cash to cryptocurrency and is widely known for its partnerships around crypto ATMs. It also holds a broad suite of money transmitter licenses across the U.S., which could be crucial for scaling compliant payments products. Meanwhile, New York-based Sequence focuses on blockchain infrastructure, including developer tools and crypto wallets that can support large-scale applications.

Challenging Stripe across the stablecoin stack

With these purchases, Polygon is stepping directly into competition with Stripe, one of the world’s most prominent fintech players, Nailwal said. Over the past year, Stripe has acquired a stablecoin startup, bought a crypto wallet firm, and backed its own payments-focused blockchain. Together, those moves signal an ambition to own every layer of what many now call the stablecoin stack.

Stripe’s model involves controlling everything from the servers that process transactions to the accounts where users ultimately keep their digital assets. That said, Polygon is approaching the stack from the opposite direction: it already operates a network of interoperable blockchains and is now adding regulated payments and infrastructure startups on top.

“It is a reverse Stripe in a way,” Nailwal said, describing Polygon’s stablecoin push. Stripe first bought its stablecoin and wallet targets and then invested in its own blockchain. In contrast, Polygon has long maintained its Ethereum-based network and is now integrating companies that can extend it into mainstream financial services. “Polygon Labs is becoming a full-blown fintech company,” he added.

Regulatory tailwinds for stablecoins

The timing of this strategy shift is not accidental. The expansion into payments is unfolding during a period of renewed hype around stablecoins, digital tokens pegged to real-world assets such as the U.S. dollar. Moreover, the sector received a major boost after President Donald Trump signed into law in July a new bill regulating these tokens.

Following the legislation, a wide range of fintechs, big tech firms, and even banks have announced plans to launch their own stablecoins. Proponents argue that these tokens can offer faster, cheaper, and more programmable alternatives to traditional payment rails, which still rely heavily on infrastructure designed decades ago.

Polygon Labs, whose network operates as a scaling layer on top of Ethereum, is positioning itself to capture this momentum. Best known for its central role during the NFT surge in 2021 and 2022, the project has steadily diversified. Over the past year, it has accelerated investments in payments, including hiring former Stripe head of crypto John Egan to strengthen its leadership bench.

Price speculation and pushback on CoinDesk report

The Coinme deal is the most visible piece of Polygon’s payments expansion so far. Industry outlet CoinDesk reported that the acquisition was valued between $100 million and $125 million. If accurate, that range would suggest that the implied price tag for Sequence falls between $125 million and $150 million, based on the overall total.

However, Boiron, the Polygon Labs chief executive, firmly disputed that reporting. “Almost everything that CoinDesk wrote in that article is wrong,” he said, without providing an alternative valuation. That said, he did not clarify whether any part of the ranges cited was accurate, leaving the final structure of the deals opaque.

This lack of detail underscores how competitive the market for crypto payments infrastructure and developer platforms has become. Buyers and sellers often keep valuations confidential, especially when acquisitions are part of a broader multi-year strategy rather than isolated transactions.

Coinme’s legal challenges and compliance posture

Regulatory questions around Coinme have also drawn attention. In 2025, regulators in California and Washington targeted the company for alleged violations, including failing to prevent customers from withdrawing more than $1,000 per day from affiliated crypto ATMs. Washington authorities initially issued a cease-and-desist order against Coinme.

However, Washington regulators agreed to stay that order roughly a month after pursuing the startup, giving Coinme an opportunity to address compliance concerns. Moreover, the company’s network of money transmitter licenses suggests it has invested heavily in regulatory permissions, even as it has faced enforcement actions.

Boiron said he is not concerned about the legal history. “I think they go far beyond what is required,” he said, referring to Coinme’s compliance regime. “On the back end, the way that they handle being able to limit risk to users, I think is state of the art.” That stance indicates Polygon sees Coinme’s systems as an asset rather than a liability.

Integrating infrastructure and payments on Polygon

Strategically, these moves bring together licensed cash-to-crypto services and blockchain infrastructure within one ecosystem. By combining Coinme’s compliance-heavy retail operations with Sequence’s developer tools and wallet technology, Polygon can offer a more complete stack to partners building payments and financial applications.

In that context, the company hopes the latest Polygon Labs acquisitions will help it serve both consumer-facing fintechs and enterprise clients that need reliable, regulated access to stablecoin rails. Moreover, this integration could position Polygon as a key intermediary between traditional finance and on-chain settlement.

Unlike Stripe, which is layering stablecoin functionality on top of an existing payments empire, Polygon is extending a blockchain-first architecture outward into mainstream financial use cases. If regulators maintain a supportive stance and user demand for digital dollars continues to grow, the competition between crypto-native networks and big fintechs is likely to intensify.

Overall, Polygon’s purchase of Coinme and Sequence marks a decisive bet on regulated stablecoin payments, tighter wallet and infrastructure integrations, and a long-term contest with Stripe over the future of digital money.