Stripe and Paradigm opened the public testnet for Tempo in December 2025 - a Layer 1 blockchain purpose-built for stablecoin payments. The platform features sub-second finality, dedicated payment lanes separated from general-purpose smart contract traffic, and built-in compliance and accounting system interoperability.
Industry Support
Early technical input came from OpenAI and Shopify, with Visa, Mastercard, and UBS subsequently joining as network participants. Klarna announced KlarnaUSD, the first bank-issued stablecoin to be built on Tempo - positioning the platform as multi-tenant infrastructure rather than a Stripe-only tool.
Settlement Architecture
Tempo is designed as a "neutral coordination layer" for cross-border payment settlement. Unlike general-purpose blockchains, its architecture prioritises payment-specific requirements: regulatory compliance hooks, accounting standard compatibility, and settlement finality guarantees. Stripe positioned Tempo as an alternative to correspondent banking for cross-border settlement.
What This Means
The world's largest private payment company building its own blockchain settlement layer is a watershed moment. If Tempo achieves adoption beyond Stripe's network, it creates an entirely new cross-border settlement rail that competes with SWIFT, correspondent banking, and existing card network settlement. The participation of Visa, Mastercard, and UBS suggests incumbents view Tempo as infrastructure to participate in rather than compete against.