Stripe and Paradigm have unveiled Tempo, a payments-first blockchain designed to bridge the gap between the speed of traditional finance and the programmability of crypto. Born from Stripe’s global payments expertise and Paradigm’s deep crypto roots, Tempo is engineered to serve a future where stablecoins become the default medium of digital exchange.
The two firms envision a world where on-chain payments feel as seamless as tapping a card, sending payroll, or settling a bill online. Tempo’s architecture reflects that vision: low, predictable fees, opt-in privacy, and the ability to pay gas in any stablecoin thanks to an enshrined automated market maker (AMM). The network supports over 100,000 transactions per second with sub-second finality, giving it the kind of throughput needed for global retail and enterprise payments.
Tempo’s early ecosystem reads like a who’s who of fintech and tech innovation. Its initial design partners include Anthropic, Coupang, Deutsche Bank, DoorDash, Lead Bank, Mercury, Nubank, OpenAI, Revolut, Shopify, Standard Chartered, and Visa. Each partner brings a different use case — from payroll and e-commerce to AI-driven financial automation — testing how stablecoin payments can move at internet speed.
At its core, Tempo is EVM-compatible and built on Reth, enabling Ethereum developers to build seamlessly without sacrificing scale or compliance. The chain’s payments-first UX features dedicated transaction lanes, memo support, and access lists, tailoring the experience to everyday financial use rather than speculative trading.
Tempo’s product scope extends far beyond basic transfers. The team lists global payouts and pay-ins, fast remittances, embedded financial accounts, tokenized deposits, microtransactions, and even agentic payments — a nod to the coming intersection between blockchain and AI. With machine-to-machine commerce on the horizon, Tempo’s ability to facilitate autonomous agent payments could make it a key layer for intelligent financial systems.
The project’s architects are also clear about governance. Tempo will be neutral toward stablecoins, allowing users to transact or cover fees with whichever token they prefer. It will be secured by a diverse validator set, with a roadmap toward permissionless validation, ensuring decentralization doesn’t get lost in its corporate lineage. “We want Tempo to be a neutral payments layer,” a spokesperson said, “where value moves freely, securely, and globally.”
If successful, Tempo could mark a shift in how blockchain is applied to real-world finance: less speculation, more utility. It represents the evolution of Stripe’s decade-long mission — simplifying global payments — now extended into the decentralized era.
