If Stripe owns PayPal, Bridge becomes the shared infrastructure layer under PYUSD, OpenUSD and Tempo. This is infrastructure consolidation, not token competition, and it’s a much bigger deal than the acquisition’s title suggests. »
This type of infrastructure could allow Stripe to introduce lower settlement fees and checkout incentives for PYUSD, while Tempo could gradually shift users to OUSD.
“This potentially strengthens Tempo significantly,” said Niamh Byrne, chief commercial officer of blockchain development platform Alchemy. “If OpenUSD gains traction, it could increase Tempo’s strategic importance and position it as more than just another blockchain.”
However, even though Stripe combines several important stable projects under one roof, commentators do not foresee any major disruption to the stable sector in the immediate future.
“Interoperability between Circle’s chains is operationally proven at an institutional scale, while Tempo is an unproven Layer 1 still in early development,” Citi said in its note. “We understand that Bridge/Tempo relies on third parties for its interoperability capabilities.”
Tether’s USDT, meanwhile, has a 60% share of the stablecoin market, eclipsing even USDC, not to mention PYUSD, which itself is a sort of “mic drop” to suggestions of a threat from distant competitors. Despite this, USDT derives its importance from the retail sector and emerging markets rather than institutions and corporations.
