Stripe, the prominent fintech company valued at $90 billion and widely recognized for its online payment solutions, has announced the development of its own Layer-1 blockchain network named Tempo. This revelation came in early September 2025 when CEO Patrick Collison highlighted the inadequacies of current blockchains for the growing demand for stablecoins on Stripe’s platform. The decision to create a new blockchain addresses scalability issues, demonstrating Stripe’s commitment to advancing payment technology.
Tempo is designed with a primary focus on payments, developed in collaboration with crypto venture capital firm Paradigm. Matt Huang, Paradigm’s co-founder and a board member at Stripe, will lead this initiative as it transitions into an independent entity. A range of influential partners, including Visa, Deutsche Bank, Shopify, Revolut, Nubank, DoorDash, OpenAI, and Anthropic, are contributing to the design of Tempo, collectively indicating a strong endorsement from established players in traditional finance and technology.
The launch of Tempo raises important questions about the future of crypto in everyday finance. Will it promote the widespread adoption of cryptocurrency, or could it risk corporatizing the decentralized ethos of the blockchain? Observers are left pondering whether Tempo represents a pivotal moment for the industry or simply echoes past initiatives like Facebook’s Libra, now rebranded as Diem.
Tempo is engineered for high-throughput and low-latency transactions, specially tailored for business payments rather than typical crypto trading. Promising to process over 100,000 transactions per second with minimal delay, it significantly outpaces existing systems like Ethereum. Its compatibility with Ethereum’s Virtual Machine (EVM) allows developers to utilize familiar smart contract structures while introducing the flexibility of paying transaction fees in various stablecoins, thus enhancing the predictability of costs for businesses.
The platform’s stablecoin-agnostic approach supports a wide array of major stablecoins natively, encouraging businesses to use their preferred token for transactions. Featuring a unique built-in exchange for stablecoin conversion, Tempo aims to resolve on-chain foreign exchange issues, enabling seamless swaps between different stablecoins.
To further enhance its appeal to financial institutions, Tempo integrates features such as payment memos and batch transfers, supporting ISO 20022 standards that align blockchain transactions with traditional banking practices. Notably, Tempo incorporates compliance features including blocklists and allowlists to ensure regulated businesses can maintain control over transactions, effectively creating a more corporate-friendly blockchain environment.
At its inception, Tempo will operate on a private testnet with a select group of partners serving as validator nodes, with plans to transition to a more open system over time. This gradual rollout strategy mirrors that of an exclusive network, with indications that wider access will come later.
The urgent need for efficient stablecoin transactions is underscored by their increasing real-world adoption. Businesses like SpaceX and various fintech companies are utilizing stablecoins for their operational transactions, signaling a shift away from speculative use towards practical applications in the financial sector. Stripe’s previous foray into crypto infrastructure through the acquisition of Bridge in 2024 laid the groundwork for this new initiative, as it sought to optimize its own systems without being constrained by external blockchain limitations.
In summary, Stripe has ventured into significant territory with Tempo, positioning itself to influence the future landscape of crypto payments. While the potential benefits are clear, both optimism and skepticism coexist as the industry watches how this development unfolds.
