Stripe and Paradigm join forces to enter the stablecoin market, officially launching Tempo, a dedicated chain with built-in compliance and privacy features

Stripe and Paradigm have officially launched Tempo, a new blockchain specifically designed for stablecoin payments. Built on Reth, an EVM-compatible L1 chain, Tempo aims to process over 100,000 transactions per second with sub-second finality. Key features include:

Fee flexibility: Users can pay transaction fees with any stablecoin.
Dedicated payment channels: Isolated blockspace ensures reliable, low-cost transfers.
Stablecoin interoperability: Native exchange of stablecoins, including custom-issued ones.
Compliance tools: Supports blacklist/whitelist settings and ISO 20022-compliant note fields for reconciliation.
Batch transfers: Native account abstraction allows multiple on-chain transactions at once.

Tempo targets use cases like remittances, global payments, micro-transactions, and embedded finance. It will operate as an independent entity led by Paradigm CEO Matt Huang, with Stripe and Paradigm as initial investors. The platform will not issue its own token and is currently in private testing with select partners. This move follows Stripe's recent acquisitions in the crypto space, including Bridge and Privy.

Compiled by: Felix, PANews

As early as the beginning of August, a recruitment information revealed that Stripe was working with cryptocurrency venture capital firm Paradigm to build a new blockchain called Tempo, but the official kept it secret. Now the news has been confirmed.

Payment giant Stripe and cryptocurrency investment firm Paradigm jointly announced on September 4th the launch of Tempo, a blockchain designed specifically for stablecoin payments. Earlier that same day, cryptocurrency company Fireblocks also announced the launch of a stablecoin payment network.

Designed specifically for stablecoins, it can process over 100,000 transactions per second.

Tempo, according to official information, is built on Reth, an EVM-compatible L1 blockchain purpose-built for payments. Stripe plans to incubate Tempo internally, aiming to process over 100,000 transactions per second with sub-second finality, enabling real-time payments globally.

Unlike general-purpose blockchains, Tempo's goal is not to replace other general-purpose blockchains, but to incorporate more design solutions that meet the needs of high-traffic payment use cases, including predictable low fees in dedicated payment functions, stablecoin neutrality, built-in stablecoin exchange, high throughput, low latency, private transactions, and compliance hooks.

Transaction fees can be paid with any stable currency, supporting blacklist/whitelist

Tempo claims that its blockchain is high-performance and scalable and will change the way money flows. Technical features include:

Fee flexibility: Pay transaction fees using any stablecoin.
Dedicated payment channels: Transfer funds reliably and at low cost within a blockspace isolated from other activity.
Stablecoin interoperability: natively exchange stablecoins (including custom-issued stablecoins) at low fees.
Batch transfers: Use native account abstraction to send multiple transactions on-chain at once.
Blacklist/Whitelist: Meet compliance standards by setting user-level transaction permissions.
Notes field: Speed up reconciliation with off-chain transactions by adding contextual information compliant with the ISO 20022 standard.

At the same time, in terms of application scenarios, Tempo claims to be suitable for any payment use case:

Remittances: Send money instantly, securely, across borders, at a fraction of the cost of traditional payment methods.
Global Payments: Pay anyone, anywhere, in any currency, at any time, without bank delays or fees.
Embedded Finance: Integrate compliant, programmable payment capabilities directly into products, supporting any stablecoin.
Micro-transactions: Supports payments of less than one cent for digital goods and on-demand services.
Agent Commerce: Provides low-cost, instant payments to agents, enabling them to execute transactions autonomously.
Tokenized deposits: Move customer funds on-chain, enabling instant settlement and efficient interbank transfers.

Operated by an independent entity, no token launch is suspected

Stripe CEO Patrick Collison said at Platform X that Tempo will operate as an independent entity with a 15-person team led by Paradigm CEO Matt Huang. Stripe and Paradigm are initial investors, and partners include Anthropic, Coupang, Deutsche Bank, DoorDash, Lead Bank, Mercury, Nubank, OpenAI, Revolut, Shopify, Standard Chartered, and Visa.

It is worth noting that regarding the question of token issuance, an anonymous person stated that Tempo will not launch its own token.

Tempo has not yet announced an official launch date and is currently testing cross-border payments, B2B payments, and remittances with selected partners in a private test network.

Tempo is Stripe's latest foray into the crypto space, following its $1.1 billion acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge last October. Stripe also partnered with Coinbase in June 2024 to integrate Coinbase's Base Layer 2 network into its cryptocurrency payments offering. In June of this year, the company acquired cryptocurrency wallet company Privy.