Stripe is preparing to launch Tempo, a Layer 1 blockchain designed for fast stablecoin payments. The project, which is still confidential, was spotted in a job posting. The fintech giant therefore appears to want to eventually control the entire payment technology chain.
A project developed behind closed doors
In early August 2025, a job posting on the Blockchain Association website caught people’s attention: Stripe, a company specializing in online payments, was looking for a product marketing manager for Tempo, a “high-performance, payments-focused” blockchain currently under development.
We learn that Tempo’s infrastructure is being built in partnership with the crypto fund Paradigm, whose co-founder Matt Huang sits on Stripe’s board of directors. The project remains very low-key for now, with a small team of just five people working on it. Tempo is looking for someone with “marketing experience with a Fortune 500 audience,” according to the ad. But what is Tempo?
It is said to be a Layer 1, meaning it is independent of other networks but compatible with the language used on Ethereum. The choice of this technology suggests that Stripe wants to appeal to developers and companies already familiar with this ecosystem.
This announcement did not come out of nowhere. In October 2024, Stripe signed its biggest check to date: $1.1 billion to acquire Bridge, a platform designed to integrate and issue stablecoins. Less than a year later, in June, the fintech company acquired Privy, a crypto wallet specialist. Tempo would add the missing piece to the puzzle: the infrastructure that directly processes transactions.
Stripe’s goal: to control the entire crypto payment chain
Since the GENIUS Act came into force in July 2025, providing a clear regulatory framework for stablecoins in the United States, corporate interest in this asset-backed payment method has skyrocketed. It therefore makes sense for Stripe to seek to position itself quickly with Tempo: it would offer an alternative to traditional banking networks such as SWIFT, with faster and cheaper international transactions. Patrick Collison, co-founder and CEO of Stripe, already stated before Congress in March:
We are now seeing real interest from businesses in stablecoins, as the technology has reached a sufficient level of maturity.
Our colleagues at Fortune contacted Stripe and Paradigm for comment, and since then, the job posting has been removed.
The project therefore appears to still be in development mode, with no date announced. Similarly, no official announcement has yet been made regarding a possible token for Tempo. Stripe seems to be focusing its efforts for the time being on building a solid and reliable infrastructure capable of attracting large Fortune 500 companies.
