Tempo, a blockchain project co-created by Stripe and crypto venture firm Paradigm, has launched its public testnet, marking an important milestone in its plan to make stablecoin payments easier and faster for global use. The network aims to connect traditional finance, fintech, and Web3 by offering instant settlement and low-cost transactions using stablecoins as native payment assets.

Tempo unlocks stablecoin payments for real-world use

First announced in September, Tempo was built with input from major global partners, including Deutsche Bank, Visa, Shopify, OpenAI, and Nubank. The team revealed new design partners this week, such as Mastercard, UBS, Klarna, and prediction market Kalshi.

“Tempo testnet is now open to anyone,” said Matt Huang, Paradigm co-founder and Tempo project lead, in a post on X. “It's been a pleasure working with great design partners to shape the chain: from teams moving billions across borders, to banks testing tokenized deposits, to AI companies exploring agentic flows.”

Huang described Tempo as a “payments-first blockchain” designed specifically for stablecoin transactions rather than trading.

“The crypto ecosystem can be quite intimidating,” Huang told Bloomberg. “We want to close that developer experience gap for people thinking about real-world use cases for stablecoins.”

Payment partners and corporate adoption

Klarna, the Sweden-based buy-now-pay-later company, confirmed plans to launch its own USD-backed stablecoin on the network, KlarnaUSD, next year when the Tempo mainnet goes live. The company said the project will help it reduce merchant and consumer costs and improve digital financial efficiency.

“Working with Tempo allows Coastal to test and co-create the next generation of financial infrastructure,” said Brian Hamilton, president of Washington-based design partner Coastal Bank, in a statement.

Earlier partners such as Visa and Deutsche Bank are also continuing to explore stablecoin-based cross-border payment applications through Tempo. Stripe’s infrastructure firm Bridge has supported Klarna’s stablecoin development, signaling growing collaboration between fintech institutions and blockchain-based payment systems.

Features built for scalability and stability

Tempo operates an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible network designed for developers who already use Ethereum tools. The public testnet includes features optimized for payment-specific use cases:

  • Dedicated payment lanes that separate financial transactions from high-traffic blockchain activities like NFT mints.
  • Sub-second finality for instant settlement.
  • Stablecoin-native gas fees, allowing users to pay for transactions in USD-denominated stablecoins instead of volatile crypto tokens.
  • Built-in functionality for microtransactions, scheduled payments, and batch transfers.
  • Open-source compatibility and support for modern wallet integrations.

The network currently runs four internal validators but will expand validator participation as it moves closer to mainnet launch. Developers can now access the testnet under an open-source Apache license, ensuring transparency and flexibility for external contributors.

A new approach for global digital payments

Tempo’s testnet launch aligns with a growing wave of projects building stablecoin-focused blockchains. The global stablecoin market, valued at nearly $300 billion, continues to expand as financial institutions and businesses adopt tokenized U.S. dollar payments. A recent report by Keyrock and Bitso noted that stablecoins are becoming integral to cross-border B2B, P2P, and retail payment systems.

“Stablecoins, after all, did not emerge from an elegant theory of money. They emerged from necessity in the crypto space,” said a Bloomberg report cited in coverage of Tempo’s launch. “Only time will tell if they ultimately become similarly necessary across traditional payments and financial services.”

Tempo’s mission is to build a blockchain where payments are prioritized over speculative trading. Huang said,

“We are excited to further crypto’s ability to tackle real-world use cases including global payments and payroll, remittances, tokenized deposits for 24/7 settlement, embedded financial accounts, microtransactions, agentic payments and more.”

The company raised $500 million in October 2025 at a $5 billion valuation, underscoring investor confidence in its payment-oriented infrastructure. Tempo also brought on Dankrad Feist, a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, to help design protocol-level solutions for faster and cheaper settlement.

Tempo joins growing race for payments blockchains

Stripe’s involvement gives Tempo a strong foothold in global financial operations. Stripe processed more than $1.4 trillion in payments in 2024, and its partnership signals a bridge between traditional fintech platforms and decentralized infrastructure.

Tempo’s public testnet, now available for anyone to explore, sets the stage for what could become a next-generation payment network optimized for global digital commerce. The full mainnet rollout is expected in 2026, pending continued testing and integration with partner institutions.

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