Stripe Launches Tempo Blockchain to Reinvent Global Settlement
Stripe and crypto venture capital firm Paradigm unveiled Tempo in September 2025 as a Layer 1 blockchain designed specifically for stablecoins and global payments, with the aim of reducing delays in traditional bank-based cross-border settlement. Stripe said stablecoin payment volume doubled to about $400 billion in 2025, with business-to-business transactions accounting for roughly 60%, underscoring the importance of round-the-clock, programmable settlement.
Tempo completed about three and a half months of testing and launched its mainnet on March 18, 2026. It also introduced the open-source Machine Payments Protocol, jointly developed with Stripe, which enables AI agents to pay automatically for data, computing and software services. The initial payments directory integrates more than 100 providers, including Anthropic, OpenAI, Shopify, Alchemy and Dune Analytics.
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The history behind this eventMoneyGram Joins Stripe’s Tempo as Validator, Integrating Stablecoin Cross-Border Settlement
MoneyGram is a major global cross-border money-transfer provider and has expanded into digital-asset settlement in recent years through Stellar and USDC. Tempo, a Layer 1 payments blockchain incubated by Stripe and Paradigm, is designed for stablecoin transactions and enterprise payments. The partnership could help reduce friction in cross-border settlement across traditional remittance networks.
MoneyGram recently announced that it had joined Tempo as a remittance validator, further integrating blockchain and stablecoin settlement into its global money-transfer network. As of July 20, 2026, the companies had not disclosed the value of the partnership, a formal launch date or the number of markets to be covered. The agreement extends MoneyGram’s digital-payments strategy built around USDC and Stellar.
Stripe-Backed Tempo Integrates Morpho to Expand On-Chain Financial Services
Tempo, a stablecoin-payments blockchain backed by Stripe and Paradigm, initially offered transfers, foreign exchange and corporate settlement. The blockchain launched in March 2026 after raising $500 million the previous year at a $5 billion valuation. Its addition of DeFi credit expands Tempo beyond payment rails into corporate treasury management and financing.
On May 18, 2026, Tempo announced an integration with Morpho, a DeFi lending protocol with $7.5 billion in assets, allowing fintech companies and businesses to borrow and lend directly on-chain and earn yield on idle stablecoins. Gauntlet and Sentora will curate lending markets, while RedStone will provide price feeds for stablecoins, Bitcoin-backed assets and tokenized real-world assets.
Visa and Stripe-Backed Tempo Launch AI Agent Payment Tools on Same Day
As AI agents begin autonomously calling APIs, buying computing resources and executing business processes, payment authorization and credential leaks have become barriers to deployment. Visa Crypto Labs, Stripe and Stripe-backed Tempo are incorporating payment rails such as cards and stablecoins into machine-readable protocols, allowing agents to complete transactions under controlled permissions.
On March 18, 2026, Visa Crypto Labs released its first experimental product, Visa CLI, which allows AI agents to initiate card payments from the command line without managing API keys. Tempo launched its mainnet the same day and introduced the Machine Payments Protocol with Stripe. Visa also provided a card specification and SDK, but disclosed no investment or transaction amounts at launch.
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