Polygon Labs invests $250 million to acquire Coinme and Sequence, heating up the stablecoin battle

【Blockchain Rhythm】Polygon Labs has indeed made a big move this time. On January 13th, they announced the acquisition of two crypto startups, Coinme and Sequence, with a total transaction value exceeding $250 million. How the funds are allocated and the payment methods used were kept confidential—this approach is quite common.

According to CEO Marc Boiron and Sandeep Nailwal, founder of the Polygon Foundation, these two acquisitions are core pieces of the company’s stablecoin and payment strategy. In simple terms, they aim to strengthen Polygon’s influence in the payment infrastructure sector.

Looking at these two acquired companies makes it clear. Coinme is headquartered in Seattle and mainly deals with cash and crypto asset exchanges. It also operates a crypto ATM network in the US and holds multiple state-level money transfer licenses—laying the foundation for compliance. Sequence, based in New York, specializes in blockchain infrastructure, including products like crypto wallets.

Interestingly, Nailwal openly stated that this move is a direct challenge to Stripe. This traditional payments giant has been busy over the past year, not only acquiring stablecoin startups and wallet companies but also launching its own dedicated blockchain for payments. Their ambition is clear: to control the entire stablecoin technology chain, from payment processing to user asset management.

Now, Polygon Labs is also taking action. This is not just business expansion but also a declaration: we are competing with traditional fintech giants for dominance. The new round of stablecoin infrastructure competition is becoming even more exciting.