Polygon invests $250M to build a regulated US payments network across 48 states

Polygon Labs finalized agreements to acquire two companies, Coinme and Sequence, in a deal valued at over $250 million, with the goal of building what it calls an “Open Money Stack” for stablecoin-based transactions. The date on those finalized agreements: January 13, 2026.

What Polygon actually bought

Coinme is the first piece of this puzzle, and it is the one that gives the deal its regulatory weight. Founded in 2014, Coinme holds money-transmitter licenses across 48 US states, the kind of compliance infrastructure that typically takes years and tens of millions of dollars to assemble from scratch.

Beyond the licenses, Coinme operates at over 50,000 retail locations, giving consumers a physical network to convert cash into digital assets. Coinme’s backers include Coinstar, MoneyGram, and Circle.

Sequence is the second acquisition and provides the technical plumbing. The company’s enterprise smart wallet technology and cross-chain routing capabilities are designed to simplify how payments move between traditional banking systems and on-chain platforms.

Together, the two acquisitions are meant to form a single integrated system. Fiat on-ramps and off-ramps from Coinme, compliance infrastructure baked in, and Sequence handling the smart wallet layer that ties everything together. Polygon’s term for this combined platform is the Open Money Stack.

CEO Marc Boiron described the move as expanding access to regulated US payment rails, framing it as a foundation for more efficient transaction processing.

Why Polygon is doing this now

Polygon is also reportedly exploring a $100 million capital raise specifically for its payments division. That fundraise, if completed, would provide runway for the division to operate and expand independently.

Polygon Labs has also implemented a 30% staff reduction as part of the restructuring.

What this means for investors and the broader market

The 50,000 retail location footprint that comes with Coinme is not a small detail. Physical distribution is expensive and slow to build. It gives Polygon an immediate consumer-facing presence that most crypto companies cannot replicate without spending years and substantial capital.

As of late June 2026, no significant regulatory updates or major payment announcements had emerged from the acquisitions, suggesting the buildout is still in early stages. Investors should watch for whether the Open Money Stack moves from announcement to live product, and whether the capital raise closes at its reported target size.

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