Stripe Launches Payments-Focused Blockchain Tempo, Backed by Paradigm

The project, dubbed Tempo, is being developed in partnership with Paradigm and aims to address long-standing frictions in using blockchains for real-world financial services.

Stripe is a global payments company that builds software and infrastructure for online transactions, while Paradigm is a leading venture capital firm focused on crypto and Web3 investments.

Organization

Collison said today’s blockchains aren’t built for fast, large-scale payments. Most charge fees in their own tokens instead of fiat currencies, and their designs are shaped more by trading than by payments. He argued that payments need different features—like the ability to send many transfers at once and handle more than 10,000 transactions per second.

Tempo will be structured as an independent company, with Stripe and Paradigm serving as the first investors. The initiative has also lined up heavyweight partners, including Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered, OpenAI, and Revolut.

Collison said the network will start with a mix of validators and later open up to anyone who wants to participate. It will also include a built-in stablecoin exchange to stay neutral among different stablecoin issuers.

Purpose

Stripe itself will continue to integrate with multiple blockchains, but Tempo is positioned as a purpose-built Layer 1 network for applications like remittances, global payouts, microtransactions, tokenized deposits, and agentic payments, which are transactions carried out by an AI agent. 

The project is currently led by former Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang, with a 15-person team driving development.