Stripe’s $92B Leap Into Crypto: Meet “Tempo,” Its New Blockchain

It looks like Stripe, the $92 billion payments giant, is making another move into crypto, this time with its own blockchain. A now-removed job posting from August 3 revealed that the company is developing a new project called Tempo, described as a “high-performance, payments-focused blockchain.”

The listing appeared on the website of the Blockchain Association and was aimed at hiring a product marketing lead with experience speaking to Fortune 500 clients.

A Layer-1 blockchain built with a crypto heavyweight

According to the job ad, Tempo is still in stealth mode, operating with a small team of five and being developed in partnership with crypto-focused venture capital firm Paradigm.

Matt Huang, Paradigm’s cofounder and managing partner, also sits on Stripe’s board. Sources familiar with the project say Tempo will be a layer-1 blockchain, meaning it won’t be built on top of an existing protocol, and will be compatible with Ethereum’s programming language, Solidity.

Neither Stripe nor Paradigm commented on the news, and the listing disappeared shortly after Fortune contacted both companies. Still, the project marks Stripe’s latest crypto-related effort.

Over the past year, the company has gone on a buying streak, acquiring stablecoin infrastructure provider Bridge for $1.1 billion in October and crypto wallet developer Privy in June.

Both acquisitions point toward building an end-to-end stablecoin payments stack, from issuance to wallet management, and now potentially the blockchain layer itself.

Why stablecoins are driving Stripe’s crypto push

Stripe’s timing aligns with a broader industry shift toward stablecoins, cryptocurrencies pegged to assets like the U.S. dollar. Supporters argue they can make payments faster and cheaper than traditional systems like SWIFT.

Interest has grown sharply since July, when President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act, providing a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins.

CEO Patrick Collison has testified to Congress about growing business interest in stablecoins as the technology matures. Stripe’s acquisition of Bridge gives it the ability to integrate and issue stablecoins for corporate clients, while Privy adds crypto wallet capabilities.

If Tempo comes to market, it would add another piece to Stripe’s crypto infrastructure by letting the company process transactions on its own network.

What Stripe hasn’t said yet is whether Tempo will have its own token, a common step for new blockchain launches, or whether it will operate entirely as a payment rail for existing digital assets.

For now, the details remain under wraps, but the payments giant seems to be building toward a much larger role in the future of crypto transactions.

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