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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallCoinme alleged in an October 2024 lawsuit that Coinstar used confidential information from their business partnership to develop and promote CINQ, a competing crypto product for Coinstar kiosks. The allegations have not been established as facts: the available reporting confirms the filing and Coinme’s claims, but does not verify a final court ruling or other resolution as of August 18, 2026.
How the Coinme–Coinstar partnership worked
Coinme, a Seattle cryptocurrency company, and Bellevue-based Coinstar began working together in 2018. Coinstar contributed its physical kiosk network and access to customers; Coinme supplied cryptocurrency transaction technology and services. Customers could use Coinstar kiosks to initiate Bitcoin purchases, and the companies shared transaction-fee revenue.
Coinme said it provided proprietary application programming interfaces (APIs) and other confidential information to support the integration. According to figures attributed to Coinme’s lawsuit, its service had been deployed in about 10,000 Coinstar kiosks, where consumers had bought roughly $1 billion in cryptocurrency. Those are claims reported from the lawsuit, not independently audited figures. GeekWire’s October 2024 report describes the partnership and allegations.
What CINQ is—and why it created a conflict
CINQ was presented as Coinstar’s own product for buying cryptocurrency with cash through Coinstar kiosks and a mobile app. GeekWire reported that Zero Hash powered CINQ. Its launch put a competing crypto service in the same kiosk channel where Coinme had previously provided the service.
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The central dispute was not simply whether Coinstar could compete. It was whether Coinstar used information obtained through the partnership in a way the parties’ agreements or trade-secret law prohibited. The available account does not establish that CINQ used Coinme’s source code, nor does use of a third-party provider such as Zero Hash resolve what information Coinstar used or what its agreements allowed.
What Coinme alleged in its lawsuit
Coinme filed suit in King County Superior Court, Washington, on October 9, 2024. According to GeekWire’s summary of the complaint, Coinme alleged that Coinstar received proprietary APIs and other confidential information through the partnership, then used that information beyond the permitted scope to develop CINQ more quickly, cheaply, and with greater functionality than it otherwise could have.
Coinme described CINQ’s purchasing process as “virtually identical” to its own. It also alleged Coinstar promoted CINQ on kiosks in ways that favored the new product, confused customers, and diverted transactions from Coinme. Coinme said its kiosk transaction volume fell substantially in August 2024 as CINQ’s rollout expanded. That timing supports a question about causation; by itself, it does not prove CINQ caused the decline. Market conditions, customer demand, fees, kiosk availability, regulation, or changes to Coinme’s own business could also affect transaction volume.
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The reported complaint included comparative screenshots of the two interfaces and an image of Coinstar’s CINQ promotion with a “Looking for Coinme?” button. Visual resemblance can be relevant evidence, but it does not by itself establish copying of protected code or unlawful use of a trade secret. Similar customer flows may also reflect common industry practices, contractual requirements, or third-party infrastructure.
Why kiosk placement matters to the dispute
Coinstar controlled the physical distribution channel at issue. Coinme alleged that CINQ received preferential placement or promotion across that network, potentially giving it greater visibility and redirecting customers who had used Coinme. A prompt such as “Looking for Coinme?” could raise practical questions about whether a customer understood which company operated the transaction or whether the services were affiliated.
The available account does not establish that Coinstar blocked Coinme, that customers were actually misled, or how the products differed in account requirements, fees, identity checks, transaction limits, or customer support. Those details matter to consumers, but they cannot be inferred from the reported allegations.
What Coinme asked the court to do
Coinme sought damages for lost business and an injunction barring Coinstar from using CINQ, among other remedies. The available reporting does not identify the exact causes of action, the precise contract terms, the amount of damages sought, or whether Coinme requested temporary or preliminary injunctive relief. Those particulars should not be assumed from the broad description of the case.
What would have to be established
A trade-secret claim generally turns on whether the information at issue qualified for legal protection, whether it was acquired, disclosed, or used without authorization, and whether the claimant took reasonable steps to keep it secret. Information shared with a commercial partner is not automatically a trade secret; nor does a partner’s authorized access necessarily authorize every later use. Contract claims can turn on separate questions, such as what the agreement permitted, whether its confidentiality or licensing terms covered the information, and whether those terms were breached.
- Protected information: Coinme would need to identify what it says was secret and explain why it had economic value from not being generally known and was subject to reasonable secrecy measures.
- Use and authorization: The parties’ agreement and evidence of Coinstar’s development would help show whether any use exceeded the permission Coinstar received. Competing in the same market is not, on its own, proof of misappropriation.
- Similarity: Screenshots can show similarities in a customer experience, but do not alone prove that protected technical material was used.
- Loss and causation: Coinme would need evidence connecting any wrongful conduct to lost transactions or other compensable harm. A reported decline coinciding with CINQ’s rollout is not, without more, proof of cause or damages.
- Injunctive relief: A request to stop use of a product is not a court order. Whether a court would grant an injunction depends on the legal and factual record and the applicable standards.
Coinstar’s public response and the case status
When GeekWire reported the lawsuit on October 23, 2024, representatives for both Coinstar and Coinme declined to comment. The report did not provide a defense-side account or denial, and a decision not to comment should not be described as either.
Status as of August 18, 2026: The available reporting confirms the October 9, 2024 filing and Coinme’s allegations, but does not verify a final judgment, settlement, injunction, dismissal, trial outcome, or later procedural development. That does not establish that the case remains active. King County offers an online case-search portal for case information and document access. The court explains how to obtain case information and records; portal information may have access limits and is not necessarily the official certified court record.
Why the dispute matters beyond these companies
The case illustrates a recurring risk in fintech partnerships: a company may gain access to another firm’s APIs, workflows, or other confidential material to support an integration, then later build a competing service. The legal boundary depends on the information exchanged, the protections taken, and the parties’ contract—not just on whether the products look alike or one partner later competes.
For consumers, cash-to-crypto kiosk use is a separate practical concern from the trade-secret case. Before completing a transaction, customers should check which provider is operating it, the applicable fees and terms, how funds or vouchers are handled, and where to seek help. Nothing in the reported lawsuit establishes that Coinme or CINQ transactions were unsafe or that customers suffered losses.
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