Solana News Today: Tempo Aims to Bridge Traditional Finance and Stablecoin Payments with No Native Token

Stripe and Paradigm announced on September 5, 2025, the launch of Tempo, a new layer-1 blockchain designed specifically for stablecoins and real-world payments. This joint initiative, developed by the fintech giant and the crypto venture firm, aims to address the infrastructure gap between traditional financial systems and blockchain-based transactions. The announcement was made as stablecoins continue to gain traction in the broader financial ecosystem, with increasing demand for scalable and efficient payment solutions [1].

Tempo is positioned as a payments-first blockchain, leveraging Stripe’s global payment processing experience and Paradigm’s technical expertise in crypto. It will be built with input from a range of industry leaders in AI, e-commerce, and financial services, including Anthropic, Deutsche Bank, OpenAI, and Shopify [1]. Unlike traditional blockchain projects that often rely on native tokens to fuel transactions, Tempo will accept stablecoins as gas fees, which are used to validate and process transactions on the network [2]. This approach aligns with the broader trend of using stablecoins—cryptocurrencies typically pegged to the U.S. dollar—for real-world applications.

The launch of Tempo has sparked significant debate within the crypto community. Some critics argue that building another layer-1 blockchain is unnecessary when existing networks like Solana already offer high throughput and efficiency. Stripe CEO Patrick Collison stated that most current blockchains cannot support the volume of transactions required by Stripe’s payment infrastructure, which processes over 10,000 transactions per second (TPS) at peak times [4]. However, Solana advocates have pushed back, noting that the network currently processes over 3,186 TPS and could potentially exceed the requirements set by Stripe [4].

The timing of the launch aligns with a broader surge in interest in blockchain-based payments, driven in part by regulatory developments in the U.S. The Trump administration’s supportive stance and Congress’s recent stablecoin-focused legislation have encouraged more businesses to explore blockchain technology [2]. Meanwhile, the institutional confidence in Solana has also risen, highlighted by a record $13.68 billion in open interest in Solana (SOL) futures, according to data from crypto analyst Tom Tucker [3]. This surge in demand is attributed to Solana’s recent Alpenglow network upgrade, which significantly improved transaction speed and reduced finality times to just 150 milliseconds [3].

Industry observers remain divided on the potential impact of Tempo. While some view it as a much-needed innovation in the payments sector, others caution that the proliferation of layer-1 blockchains has led to fragmentation and underutilization. Critics like Joe Petrich of NFT platform Courtyard argue that many of the issues Stripe seeks to address have already been addressed by existing blockchain networks [4]. However, proponents of Tempo, including Fintopia CEO Steve Milton, suggest that the project could serve as a vital infrastructure layer for applications that require high-speed, low-cost transactions [4].

Tempo’s team currently consists of around 15 members, led by Paradigm managing partner Matt Huang, who will continue his role at Paradigm alongside Alana Palmedo. The project is being described as a new, independent entity incubated by both Stripe and Paradigm. While no official launch timeline has been announced, Paradigm expressed optimism that Tempo could help bridge the gap between traditional finance and the growing stablecoin economy [2]. The firm also emphasized that the goal is to maintain the project’s neutrality, allowing broader adoption beyond Stripe’s existing ecosystem [2].

Source:

[1] Tempo: The Blockchain Designed for Payments - Paradigm (https://www.paradigm.xyz/2025/09/tempo-payments-first-blockchain)

[2] Stripe and Paradigm announce new payments-focused... (https://fortune.com/crypto/2025/09/04/stripe-paradigm-tempo-blockchain-stablecoins-matt-huang-payments/)

[3] Solana Futures Market Surges As Open Interest Hits... (https://www.mitrade.com/insights/news/live-news/article-3-1097655-20250905)

[4] Crypto Industry Debates Over Stripe's New Tempo... (https://cointelegraph.com/news/stripe-blockchain-launch-tempo-crypto-industy-divide)