Stripe Launches Tempo Blockchain for High-Throughput Stablecoin Payments

Stripe has officially unveiled Tempo, a LAYER 1 blockchain designed specifically for high-volume stablecoin transactions. Financial heavyweights Visa, Deutsche Bank, and Standard Chartered are among the initial design partners. The blockchain, now in private testnet, aims to address infrastructure limitations Stripe faced as stablecoin adoption grew across its platforms.

Tempo targets real-world financial applications with fiat-denominated fees, eliminating the need for blockchain-specific tokens. Users can pay gas fees in any stablecoin via an integrated automated market maker system. The project was incubated by Stripe in collaboration with crypto venture firm Paradigm.

Existing blockchains process 5-1,000 transactions per second, while Stripe routinely handles over 10,000 TPS during peak periods. Tempo represents Stripe's ambitious attempt to build infrastructure capable of meeting global payment demands as stablecoins go mainstream.