Tempo, the payments-focused blockchain developed by payments giant Stripe and crypto investment firm Paradigm, launched its mainnet on Wednesday, bringing its stablecoin payments system out of testing and putting it live.
The network is designed to process a large number of transactions quickly and at low cost. It aims to make sending money with stablecoins – digital tokens tied to currencies like the US dollar – as easy as using a card or bank transfer, but faster and available at any time.
The launch follows a public testnet that began in December, when companies including Mastercard, UBS, Klarna and Visa began experimenting with sending payments over the network. This phase allowed developers to test how stablecoins could handle everyday financial activities, such as cross-border payments and transfers.
Alongside the mainnet launch, Tempo introduced the Machine Payments Protocol, a system co-developed with Stripe that allows software to make payments on its own. This allows artificial intelligence (AI) applications or tools to pay for services such as data or computing power without human approval at every step.
Tempo also targets more common uses, such as sending money across borders or paying large groups of workers at once. These processes often take days and involve several intermediaries.
The launch comes as global payment processing companies increasingly view blockchain rails and stablecoins as a key piece of plumbing for cross-border finance. Mastercard announced this week that it will acquire stablecoin infrastructure startup BVNK for $1.8 billion to integrate digital dollars into its payments network. This deal followed Stripe’s purchase of stablecoin startup Bridge and crypto wallet company Privy.
Tempo is also looking to move into agentic finance, an emerging trend in which AI agents use blockchains to pay for certain services requiring micropayments.
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