Polygon is pursuing the purchase of Bitcoin ATM operator Coinme in a deal reported to be valued between $100 million and $125 million, a move aimed at linking physical fiat on-ramps with its on-chain payments infrastructure. The discussions are said to be advanced but not public, and advisers are reportedly in place to steer the transaction.
According to the report, Polygon’s interest centers on Coinme’s extensive physical network and compliance footprint. Coinme operates more than 50,000 Bitcoin ATMs across 49 U.S. states and began deploying kiosks in 2014.
The company supports multiple cryptocurrencies in offline retail environments and has established longstanding retail partnerships—assets Polygon sees as complementary to its recently announced Open Money Stack, which is intended to route regulated stablecoin payments and simplify off-chain to on-chain settlement.
The report highlights the regulatory complexity bundled with Coinme’s licenses. Coinme holds money-transmitter registrations across most U.S. states, a feature that accelerates market entry but also transfers ongoing compliance obligations to any acquirer.
The company has faced enforcement actions: a $300,000 fine under California’s digital-finance rules for ATM transaction-limit breaches and a Washington state order alleging improper handling of unredeemed customer funds, with regulators seeking repayment and raising the prospect of license revocation and business restrictions.
Regulatory context and market implications
Polygon, historically a software-first entity, would need to integrate those operational and compliance responsibilities. That integration will test whether Polygon can absorb licensed money-transmission obligations and remediate outstanding enforcement matters while using Coinme’s physical network to expand on-chain payment use cases.
Investors reacted positively to the reports and to Polygon’s payments initiative; the POL token jump cited in the report reflects short-term market confidence but also raises questions about execution risk tied to regulatory remediation and operational integration.
For stakeholders—product teams, compliance officers and institutional partners—the immediate tests will be regulatory clearances, the transfer and management of money-transmitter licenses, and the operational timeline to connect Coinme’s ATM flows into Polygon’s Open Money Stack.
How quickly Polygon can demonstrate secure custody, KYC/AML continuity and repaired compliance controls will determine whether the physical-to-digital bridge materially changes on-ramp dynamics for U.S. users and institutional integrators.
