Tempo, a payments-focused blockchain backed by Stripe and crypto investment firm Paradigm, has launched its public testnet, marking a key milestone in its push to make stablecoin payments viable for mainstream financial use. 

The launch allows developers and enterprise partners to begin testing real-world payment flows on-chain, moving the project from concept into live network experimentation.

Also read: Stripe Set to Lead $350 Billion AI and Payments Revolution, Says JPMorgan

First introduced in September, Tempo was built specifically for high-volume financial transactions. 

With the testnet now live, fintech firms, banks, and developers can begin stress-testing the network’s performance in real-world conditions ahead of a future production launch.

Major Financial and Fintech Firms Join as Partners

Alongside the testnet debut, Tempo unveiled a major expansion of its partner group. 

New participants include buy-now-pay-later giant Klarna, prediction markets platform Kalshi, payments heavyweight Mastercard, and Swiss global bank UBS.

They join an earlier group of design partners that already includes Deutsche Bank, Visa, Shopify, OpenAI, and Nubank. Together, the roster spans traditional banking, global card networks, commerce platforms, artificial intelligence, and digital-native consumer finance.

Built for High-Volume, Low-Cost Transactions

Tempo is targeting some of the most persistent obstacles that have limited blockchain’s penetration into everyday payments, including network congestion, volatile transaction fees, and dependence on native gas tokens with unpredictable pricing. 

According to the company, the network charges roughly one-tenth of a cent per transaction, with fees paid directly in U.S. dollar–denominated stablecoins.

Also read: IMF Warns Stablecoins Could Erode Monetary Sovereignty Worldwide

By eliminating exposure to a volatile gas token, Tempo aims to offer a predictable cost structure suited to enterprise-scale payment flows. The network also promises instant finality, a feature seen as essential for real-time checkout, remittances, and time-sensitive financial transactions.

The testnet will now serve as the proving ground for those technical claims, allowing participants to assess throughput, reliability, and integration complexity under live conditions.

Stablecoins Continue Their Shift Into Mainstream Finance

Tempo’s launch comes as stablecoins rapidly transition from crypto trading tools into core financial infrastructure. 

Today, stablecoins represent a roughly $300 billion asset class and are increasingly used for cross-border payments, treasury operations, and merchant settlement.

Stablecoin market cap (Source: DefiLlama)

A recent report from Keyrock and Bitso projects that business-to-business payments, peer-to-peer transfers, and card-based transactions will be the primary growth engines for stablecoins in the years ahead. 

As global payments become more digital and always-on, demand for programmable, dollar-denominated settlement continues to rise.

That momentum has fueled a wave of new blockchains and infrastructure platforms built specifically around stablecoin payments, putting Tempo into direct competition with other purpose-built settlement networks.

Stripe’s Stablecoin Strategy Comes Into Focus

The testnet launch also signals Stripe’s growing ambitions in the stablecoin economy. Through its stablecoin-focused subsidiary, Bridge, Stripe has been quietly building infrastructure to support digital dollar issuance and global settlement.

Also read: Stripe’s Bridge Unit Applies for National Bank Charter to Expand Stablecoin Services

Bridge is expected to help Klarna issue its own digital dollar next year, tying consumer financing directly to blockchain-based payment rails. 

For Stripe, the strategy positions stablecoins as a foundational layer for the next generation of internet-native payments, rather than a niche crypto product.

Enterprise Adoption Still Faces Critical Tests

Despite the momentum, Tempo’s path from testnet to large-scale production use remains uncertain. 

The network must now demonstrate that its low-fee model and instant finality can scale reliably under sustained transaction volumes. 

Network stability, security, uptime guarantees, and regulatory compliance will be closely scrutinized as banks and global payment firms evaluate deeper integration.

Regulatory clarity will also be critical as traditional financial institutions increasingly move on-chain. As the lines continue to blur between blockchain-native infrastructure and regulated payment systems, projects like Tempo will be tested not only on performance, but on governance and compliance as well.

Still, with backing from Stripe and Paradigm and a fast-growing network of global partners, Tempo enters this next phase with strong institutional momentum. As stablecoins continue their push into mainstream commerce, the launch of Tempo’s public testnet signals that the race to define the dominant rails for on-chain payments is accelerating.