Polygon Labs in talks to raise $100M for stablecoin payments push amid crypto slump

Polygon Labs is quietly lining up its next move—and it could reshape how money moves on-chain.

The team behind one of Ethereum’s most widely used scaling networks is in early talks with investors to raise up to $100 million. The goal: build out a stablecoin payments business that goes far beyond crypto trading. The discussions, first reported by The Information, point to a clear shift in focus at a time when much of the crypto market has slowed.

For Polygon, this isn’t a side project. It’s a bet on where blockchain actually makes sense.

“Polygon Labs, developer of the blockchain that underpins prediction market Polymarket and other crypto platforms, is in early talks with investors to raise as much as $100 million to build a new stablecoin payments business,” The Information reported, citing people familiar with the talks.

A pivot from trading to real-world payments

Crypto has always promised faster, cheaper transactions. The reality has often been dominated by speculation. Polygon is now leaning into a different path—one tied to everyday financial activity.

The company wants to turn its infrastructure into the rails for global payments. That means stablecoins, cross-border transfers, and merchant transactions. Less reliance on trading volume. More focus on predictable usage.

The timing is telling. Trading activity across crypto markets has cooled, prompting infrastructure players to seek steadier revenue. Payments offer that path.

Polygon isn’t starting from zero. Its network has already processed more than $2.3 trillion in stablecoin volume. During peak periods, it has handled up to 35% of global USD stablecoin transfers weekly. That kind of throughput puts it in serious contention as a backbone for digital money movement.

Building the “Open Money Stack”

This shift has been building for months.

In January 2026, Polygon acquired crypto payments firm Coinme and wallet infrastructure provider Sequence in a deal worth more than $250 million. The goal was straightforward: assemble the pieces needed to support regulated, large-scale payments.

Polygon calls this system the “Open Money Stack.” It brings together fiat on- and off-ramps, cross-chain coordination, and enterprise-ready payment tools under one umbrella.

Coinme adds something especially valuable—licenses in 48 U.S. states. That opens the door to operating within regulatory frameworks, a key step for any company that wants to handle real-world money at scale.

CEO Marc Boiron has been clear about the direction. He sees payments as the “killer use case” for blockchain. The company’s ambition is to become a regulated U.S. payments player, not just another crypto infrastructure provider.

That ambition is already showing up in partnerships. Companies like Revolut and Stripe have tapped Polygon’s network for stablecoin activity. Revolut alone moved more than $1.2 billion in stablecoin volume on Polygon in 2025.

The geographic reach is just as important. Activity spans regions such as Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia—places where faster, lower-cost transactions can have an immediate impact.

A leaner company, focused on one mission

The shift to payments has come with internal changes.

Polygon reduced its workforce by about 30% in January 2026, a move that signaled a clear break from its earlier ambitions. The company is narrowing its focus, putting its weight behind payments as it looks for a more durable business model.

Two years earlier, TechStartups covered PolygonLabs in February 2024, after the crypto startup laid off 60 staff members, or about 19% of its global workforce.

It’s a familiar playbook in tech: cut back on side bets, double down on the area with the clearest path to revenue.

For Polygon, that area is now payments.

Why stablecoins—and why now

Stablecoins have become one of the few parts of crypto showing consistent growth. They’re used for remittances, merchant payments, and treasury operations. They move quickly, settle fast, and often cost less than a cent per transaction on networks like Polygon.

That combination makes them attractive not just to crypto-native users but also to businesses seeking alternatives to traditional payment systems.

Polygon supports major stablecoins such as USDC and USDT, with billions in supply already on its network. The infrastructure is in place. What’s missing is scale—and that’s where new funding could come in.

The proposed $100 million raise would give Polygon the capital to push deeper into this space, build out its payment rails, and compete more directly with established fintech players.

A broader shift across crypto

Polygon’s strategy reflects a wider change across the industry.

Projects that once focused on tokens and trading are now chasing real-world use cases. Payments sit at the center of that shift. They offer consistent demand, clear value, and a path to mainstream adoption.

If Polygon succeeds, it could turn its network into a key layer for global money movement. Executives have already floated the possibility of generating more than $100 million in annual revenue from its Open Money Stack once fully deployed.

That kind of revenue profile would mark a major transition—from a network tied to market cycles to a business driven by transaction flow.

The funding talks are still in early stages, with no details yet on valuation or lead investors. Even so, the direction is clear.

Polygon is no longer just trying to scale Ethereum. It’s trying to become the system that moves money on top of it.