Polygon Acquires Coinme and Sequence for $250M to Build Regulated U.S. Payments Platform

Polygon Labs POL $0.16 24h volatility: 2.5% Market cap: $1.67 B Vol. 24h: $227.88 M announced on Jan. 13 it would acquire crypto payments company Coinme and infrastructure provider Sequence for more than $250 million.

The blockchain developer is building a regulated payments platform for stablecoin transactions in the United States.

The deals bring money transmitter licenses across 48 U.S. states and a physical network spanning more than 50,000 retail locations where customers can convert cash to cryptocurrency, according to Polygon’s announcement.

The firm described the acquisitions as foundational to its Open Money Stack, a payments toolkit unveiled last week. Both transactions are subject to regulatory approval.

The Acquisitions

Seattle-based Coinme, founded in 2014, holds federal money services registration with FinCEN (the Treasury Department’s financial crimes unit) and operates cash-to-crypto kiosks at retailers, including through Coinstar machines.

The company’s backers include stablecoin issuer Circle and major crypto investors Pantera and Digital Currency Group. Coinme will continue operating as a wholly owned subsidiary following the close of the transaction.

New York-based Sequence, founded in 2017, provides wallet technology that simplifies crypto transfers across different blockchain networks. The infrastructure firm counts Brevan Howard Digital and Coinbase among its investors.

Strategic Context

Polygon Foundation founder Sandeep Nailwal described the approach as a reverse of payments giant Stripe’s strategy.

While Stripe acquired stablecoin startups before building its own blockchain, Polygon already operates established blockchain infrastructure and is now adding regulated financial services.

The acquisitions follow President Trump’s signing of the Genius Act stablecoin legislation in July 2025. Polygon has invested in payments infrastructure throughout the past year, including hiring Stripe’s former head of crypto, John Egan.

Coinme’s Regulatory History

Coinme faced enforcement actions from California and Washington regulators in 2025. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation ordered the company to pay $300,000 in penalties and $51,700 in restitution.

The violations included accepting more than $1,000 daily from individual customers at kiosks, exceeding state limits.

Washington issued a temporary cease-and-desist order in November 2025, alleging Coinme claimed more than $8 million in customer funds as company income when vouchers went unredeemed.

The order was stayed in December 2025 after Coinme agreed to segregate customer assets in protected accounts. Polygon’s CEO expressed confidence in Coinme’s compliance practices despite the regulatory history.

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