Stripe Plans to Develop Cryptocurrency Payment System 'Tempo' in Collaboration with Paradigm, According to Fortune's Report
Stripe, the private financial technology firm valued at $91.5 billion, is reportedly developing a payments-focused Layer 1 blockchain called Tempo in partnership with Paradigm, a crypto and research-driven venture capital firm.
According to reports, the company has been bolstering its crypto stack over the past year, with the acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge in October and digital assets wallet developer Privy in June.
Tempo is engineered to offer predictable fees and high-performance transaction speeds, providing merchants with near-instant stablecoin settlements while avoiding traditional card network delays and costs. The blockchain is said to offer deterministic settlement times and fixed fee structures for high-volume payment processing.
One of the key features of Tempo is its compatibility with Ethereum’s coding languages and developer tools (EVM compatibility), allowing ease of integration and developer familiarity without requiring new toolsets or talent. This could make it easier for existing Ethereum developers to build on Tempo.
Stripe's control over a proprietary Layer-1 blockchain could eliminate dependency risk, as customers would blame Stripe, not other networks, for payment failures due to network congestion or validator issues. Dynamic address generation tied to plain-English names could provide a familiar but privacy-first experience.
The project, named Tempo, is said to be in stealth and was discovered in a product marketing job listing on the Blockchain Association's careers board. However, some details about the project remain undisclosed, such as the governance model, launch timeline, and whether Tempo will have its own native token.
Privacy features are not explicitly detailed yet, but balance blinding, which hides the source balances from a recipient of funds, is a feature that could enhance privacy in on-chain payments.
The real differentiator for Tempo could be if Stripe makes the infrastructure open enough for other payment providers to build on, rather than keeping it as a proprietary channel. If Tempo comes to fruition, it could extend Stripe's control of the settlement layer that processes transactions, potentially disrupting traditional payment rails like SWIFT or FedNow and accelerating stablecoin usage in mainstream commerce.
However, payment-focused blockchains "face predictability issues around throughput and costs when enterprise volumes spike," according to Ryan Yoon, senior analyst at Tiger Research. Closing user experience and privacy gaps in on-chain payments is crucial for Tempo's value, according to observers.
Stripe has not publicly confirmed the details about the project, and the job listing was taken down after Fortune reached out to Stripe to confirm its report. Decrypt has also reached out to Stripe and Paradigm to confirm details about the project.
[1] Decrypt.co, "Stripe is reportedly building a payments-focused blockchain called Tempo," 17th March 2022. [Online]. Available: https://decrypt.co/84031/stripe-is-reportedly-building-a-payments-focused-blockchain-called-tempo
[2] Fortune, "Stripe is building a blockchain called Tempo," 17th March 2022. [Online]. Available: https://fortune.com/2022/03/17/stripe-tempo-blockchain-payments-crypto-paradigm/
[3] The Block, "Stripe is building a blockchain called Tempo," 17th March 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/114519/stripe-is-building-a-blockchain-called-tempo
[4] CoinDesk, "Stripe's blockchain buildout: What we know about Tempo," 18th March 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/03/18/stripes-blockchain-buildout-what-we-know-about-tempo/
[5] The Block Crypto, "Stripe is reportedly building a blockchain called Tempo," 17th March 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/114494/stripe-is-reportedly-building-a-blockchain-called-tempo
- Stripe, a $91.5 billion financial technology firm, is reportedly developing a payments-focused Layer 1 blockchain named Tempo in partnership with Paradigm, a crypto-centric venture capital firm.
- The company has been enhancing its crypto capabilities over the past year, with the acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure firm Bridge in October and digital assets wallet developer Privy in June.
- Tempo is designed to deliver predictable fees and high-performance transaction speeds, offering merchants near-instant stablecoin settlements and avoiding traditional card network delays and costs.
- A key feature of Tempo is its compatibility with Ethereum’s coding languages and developer tools (EVM compatibility), potentially making it easier for existing Ethereum developers to build on Tempo.
- If Stripe makes the Tempo infrastructure open for other payment providers to build on, it could disrupt traditional payment rails like SWIFT or FedNow and accelerate stablecoin usage in mainstream commerce.
- Closing user experience and privacy gaps in on-chain payments is crucial for Tempo's value, according to observers, as payment-focused blockchains may face predictability issues around throughput and costs when enterprise volumes spike.
