Original Author: Sanqing, Foresight News
On January 13, Polygon Labs announced the completion of its acquisition of cryptocurrency payment infrastructure Coinme and blockchain development platform Sequence, with a total acquisition amount exceeding $250 million. However, Polygon Labs did not disclose the specific acquisition price for each company, nor did it specify whether the transactions were conducted in cash, equity, or a combination of both.
Marc Boiron, CEO of Polygon Labs, and Sandeep Nailwal, founder of the Polygon Foundation, stated that this acquisition aims to support the blockchain network's stablecoin strategy. Coinme holds a series of money transmission licenses in the United States, while Sequence is dedicated to building blockchain infrastructure, including crypto wallets.
Coinme: Complementing the Offline Entry Point for the Stablecoin Ecosystem
On January 9, CoinDesk reported, citing sources, that Polygon was in talks to acquire Bitcoin ATM operator Coinme. Polygon plans to spend between $100 million and $125 million to complete this acquisition.
Founded in 2014, Coinme has long operated in the U.S. compliant crypto business. It launched the first licensed Bitcoin ATM in the United States and has partnered with traditional brands like Coinstar and MoneyGram to establish a cash network of over 50,000 retail points across 48 states.
Coinme is regulated by the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) and state financial regulators, offering online wallet and vending machine transaction services. It supports the exchange and withdrawal of mainstream cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, making it easier for users to trade crypto assets.
As early as 2024, Coinme's transaction volume exceeded $1 billion and achieved profitability for the first time, demonstrating the sustained demand for its compliant payment model.
For Polygon, acquiring Coinme means directly obtaining a series of money transmission licenses across the United States, enabling Polygon to connect cash, debit cards, and on-chain assets within a compliant framework, further advancing the integration of stablecoin payments and off-chain capital inflows.
Sequence: Simplifying Web3 User Experience
While Coinme handles "money," Sequence focuses on "users." Sequence is dedicated to eliminating the complexity of blockchain through a modular stack, including smart wallets, account abstraction, and the Trails cross-chain orchestration engine.
Sequence's core technology includes the Smart Wallet, which uses account abstraction to make wallet behavior more akin to Web2 account experiences, supporting features like social recovery, gas fee abstraction, and automatic transactions.
Its key component for cross-chain execution is Trails, which allows users to automatically find and execute the optimal path for cross-chain or cross-protocol transactions without needing to be aware of cross-chain complexities, gas fees, or token compatibility after expressing their intent.
Combining chain abstraction and account abstraction, Sequence not only enables developers to "build once, run on multiple chains" but also allows end-users to trade, pay, and interact across multiple chains with a single identity, much like using internet services, lowering the barrier for new users entering the on-chain world.
Building the Open Money Stack Strategy
Polygon Labs stated that the core goal of this acquisition is its stablecoin strategy and the Open Money Stack, aiming to reduce system fragmentation through a unified API.
Open Money Stack | Source: Polygon Tweet
On/Off & Cash Ramps Layer: Utilizes Coinme's compliant network and U.S. regulatory licenses to enable instant cash and fiat on-ramps and off-ramps, converting physical cash or electronic fiat into stablecoins or other on-chain assets.
Wallet & Interaction Layer: Leverages Sequence's enterprise-grade smart wallets and account abstraction technology, along with one-click cross-chain transactions and cross-chain interaction capabilities, allowing end-users to receive, send, and make on-chain payments without worrying about underlying chains, gas, or intermediate assets.
Cross-Chain Interoperability Layer: Combines Sequence's Trails cross-chain orchestration engine and Polygon's interoperability protocol to make value flow between different chains completely transparent to users and support cross-chain transactions for any chain and any token.
Settlement Layer (Blockchain Rails): Relies on the Polygon network and its scaling technology to provide high-speed, low-cost, secure on-chain settlement infrastructure, enabling commercial-scale efficiency for stablecoin payments and value transfer.
Additionally, the Open Money Stack plans to integrate stablecoin orchestration with modules for compliance, identity, and yield generation, providing enterprises with payment and treasury management solutions.
L2 Competition Shifts to "Full-Stack Integration"
Polygon's $250 million acquisition reflects that the focus of competition in the L2 space is shifting from underlying technical parameters to full-stack business integration.
This path is highly consistent with the logic behind Coinbase's support for Base. The compliant entry point—acquiring Coinme—is to address the短板 (shortcoming) of fiat on-ramps and off-ramps,对标 (countering) Coinbase's CEX core advantage. For interaction experience, integrating Sequence is to lower the barrier to on-chain entry,对标 (countering) the ease of use of Coinbase Wallet (Base).
Against the backdrop of increasingly converging L2 technologies, ecosystems with compliant channels and low-barrier experiences will more easily attract incremental capital. Through this series of acquisitions, Polygon is attempting to build its own full-link moat in competition with opponents like Base, which possess native centralized advantages.
