Polygon invests $250 million in acquisition, targeting the trillion-dollar stablecoin payment market

Polygon Labs announces the completion of acquisitions of cryptocurrency startup Coinme and Sequence, with total deal value exceeding $250 million. This strategic move is seen as a key step for Polygon to enter the stablecoin payment space, aiming to directly compete with payment giants like Stripe. Both companies hold multi-state remittance licenses in the US, possess crypto ATM infrastructure, and provide wallet and on-chain infrastructure services. After the deal closes, Polygon will gain compliant operational capabilities covering 48 US states.

Core Acquisition

On January 13, 2026, a significant merger and acquisition took place in the blockchain space. Polygon Labs officially announced the completion of its acquisitions of two crypto startups, Coinme and Sequence, with a total transaction amount exceeding $250 million. Although Polygon did not disclose the specific purchase prices for each company, nor specify whether the deals were cash, equity, or a hybrid.

Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron and Polygon Foundation founder Sandeep Nailwal stated that this acquisition is a critical part of their stablecoin strategy for the blockchain network. Both executives candidly expressed that this move will position Polygon Labs to directly compete with payment giant Stripe.

Strategic Puzzle

The addition of Coinme and Sequence brings key capabilities to Polygon’s stablecoin payment ecosystem.

Founded in 2014, Coinme is one of the first licensed digital currency exchanges in the US. The company holds remittance licenses and compliant infrastructure across 48 states. Through a network of over 50,000 retail points, it provides an essential cash-to-digital asset conversion channel. In addition to these licenses and network, Coinme also offers enterprise-grade API and SDK, enabling compliant white-label crypto services for financial institutions and payment applications. Its investors include industry heavyweights such as Pantera, Digital Currency Group, and Circle Ventures.

Sequence focuses on blockchain infrastructure services, especially smart wallets and cross-chain technology. Its “Trails” platform offers one-click cross-chain transactions and payment capabilities. It is supported by notable investors like Brevan Howard Digital, Coinbase, and Consensys.

Together, these companies have processed over $100 million in offline sales and transferred over $2 trillion in on-chain value.

Open Currency Stack

Polygon views this acquisition as a key step toward building an “Open Currency Stack.” This stack aims to unify liquidity, payment processing, and regulatory control for global stablecoin transactions. The core of this strategy is to transform stablecoins from mere crypto trading tools into infrastructure for global financial settlement.

Sandeep Nailwal, founder of the Polygon Foundation, describes their strategy as a “reverse Stripe” model. “We aspire to make Polygon the world’s largest stablecoin fund flow channel,” Nailwal added.

Competitive Landscape

The stablecoin payment market is becoming a new battleground for traditional fintech companies and blockchain enterprises.

Over the past year, Stripe has built its own stablecoin infrastructure through a series of strategic acquisitions. In October 2024, the company announced the acquisition of stablecoin startup Bridge for $1.1 billion. In September 2025, Stripe launched the Open Issuance platform based on Bridge technology. Meanwhile, Visa and Mastercard are also actively entering the stablecoin space. Visa launched USDC settlement services in the US in December 2025 and plans to expand further in 2026.

Payment giants are actively deploying in the stablecoin field, competing to build infrastructure.

Market Opportunities

Industry forecasts suggest that the stablecoin payment market has enormous growth potential. By 2030, stablecoin transaction volume could reach $4 trillion. This growth is driven by clearer regulation, especially after the passage of the US “GENIUS Act” and the EU’s MiCA regulations.

Polygon’s own on-chain stablecoin supply reached approximately $3.3 billion by the end of 2025, a high point in three years. The network also accounts for 52% of the total USDT supply across all chains.

“By 2026, regulated US dollar stablecoins will be directly embedded into mainstream payment systems. Banks, fintechs, and retailers will widely adopt them,” predicted Adrian Wall, Executive Director of the Digital Sovereignty Alliance.

Polygon’s recent strategy will focus on B2B enterprise payments, then shift toward consumer services. Boiron stated, “Within five to ten years, we’ll figure out whether credit cards are still necessary. But for now, we can collaborate quite effectively to expand the market.”

As of January 14, 2026, data from Gate shows Ethereum (ETH) is priced at $3,336.54, up 7.54% in 24 hours. As the foundational layer built on the Polygon network, Ethereum’s strong performance and ecosystem development are resonating. GateToken (GT) is priced at $10.79, with a market cap of $1.07B, also showing a positive 4.76% change over the past 24 hours. Stablecoins are shifting from speculative assets to key infrastructure for emerging markets. The combination of Coinme’s physical cash channels and Sequence’s digital cross-chain technology positions Polygon favorably in the race to connect traditional finance with the blockchain world. Payment giants like Stripe are extending from applications to underlying blockchain layers, while Polygon is building payment applications from the bottom up. At the intersection of these paths lies a new frontier in the global payments market worth trillions of dollars.