Sequence’s modular crypto infrastructure will support the payments platform that powers Stripe and Polymarket.
Toronto-based cryptocurrency infrastructure developer Sequence has been acquired by blockchain payments platform Polygon Labs to help Polygon expand how it moves payments and other financial transactions onto the blockchain.
Polygon claims to have paid more than $250 million for the two startups
The Cayman Islands-based company on Tuesday acquired Sequence and another crypto company, Seattle-based Coinme, in one fell swoop, as it seeks to expand its infrastructure for regulated stablecoin payments.
Polygon Labs told Fortune it paid more than US$250 million ($347 million Canadian) for the two startups, but did not disclose how much it paid for each. Polygon Labs CEO Marc Boiron also denied reports from CoinDesk that the Coinme deal alone was worth between $100 million and $125 million. When contacted by BetaKit, Sequence declined to comment on the purchase price.
Polygon claims its blockchain, built on Ethereum, has processed $2.2 trillion in value. Its platform manages payments for Stripe, Revolut, Flutterwave and Polymarket, the world’s largest prediction marketplace.
Founded in 2017 as a blockchain gaming startup called Horizon, Sequence raised a $40 million Series A round in 2022 to develop its all-in-one development platform and smart wallet for building Web3 games and applications. Investors in this round included video game companies Ubisoft Entertainment and Take-Two Interactive Software, as well as Round13 Capital, Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, and even Polygon.
RELATED: Crypto giant Ripple to acquire stablecoin payments platform Rail for CA$275 million
Horizon changed its name to Sequence in April, with the development platform product becoming its front-end brand. Now, under Polygon Labs and alongside Coinme, crypto companies are building the Open Money Stack under one roof. The Open Money Stack is an integrated stack of technologies designed to move money at scale using stablecoins and blockchain rails, according to Polygon.
Polygon Labs said in a blog post that stablecoins already act like money, but they lack the infrastructure to connect them to existing financial systems. To change that, Coinme brings its US-licensed fiat on- and off-ramps (and over 1 million existing users) to the equation, while Sequence provides one-click wallet infrastructure and cross-chain transactions.
Sequence is the latest example of a Canadian Web3 company being acquired by a foreign company, as U.S. policies ease crypto regulations and drive mainstream adoption.
In August, San Francisco-based crypto giant Ripple acquired Rail, a Toronto-based stablecoin payments platform, for C$275 million to add a virtual account and automated back-office infrastructure to its capabilities. Toronto’s WonderFi is also expected to be acquired by trading platform Robinhood Markets for C$250 million in the first half of this year.
Sequence said in its own blog post that its products will continue to work and customers will be able to continue developing them without interruption.
Featured image courtesy Shubham Dhage via Unsplash.
