Key Notes
- Tempo blockchain separates transaction lanes to prevent congestion and offers stable fees at one-tenth of a cent per transaction.
- Major financial institutions including UBS, Deutsche Bank, and Cross River Bank are testing the payments-focused network's capabilities.
- The platform accepts dollar-denominated stablecoins like USDT and USDC for transaction costs and targets microtransaction use cases.
Stripe and Paradigm opened Tempo’s public testnet on Tuesday, expanding the operational capacity of the payments-focused blockchain unveiled in September. A Bloomberg report on Tuesday detailed how the rollout invites any company to begin building stablecoin payment applications on the network.
The companies confirmed that Tempo’s newest group of partners includes UBS, Cross River Bank, and prediction-market operator Kalshi.
They join existing participants such as Deutsche Bank, Nubank, OpenAI, and Anthropic, which have been testing live workloads to validate the chain’s performance. Other partners mentioned include DoorDash, Shopify, Standard Chartered , Visa , Coupang, and Revolut, with more firms like Klarna, Brex, Coastal, Mastercard , Ramp, Payoneer, Persona, and Figure joining after the initial announcement .
Tempo’s testnet is live!
Any company can now build on a payments-first chain designed for instant settlement, predictable fees, and a stablecoin-native experience.
Tempo has been shaped with a wide group of partners validating real workloads including @AnthropicAI , @Coupang ,… pic.twitter.com/tHcjuBRGZb
— tempo (@tempo) December 9, 2025
According to details, the Tempo blockchain applies a payments-first architecture that separates transaction lanes from the broader network to avoid congestion common on public blockchains. The design targets predictable settlement times and fee stability, aiming to prevent disruptions often triggered by spikes in speculative trading.
With a fixed fee of one-tenth of a cent per transaction, Tempo offers an alternative to traditional card rails that charge between one and three percent plus fixed costs.
This model also aligns with rising interest in microtransactions across fintech and AI firms, which increasingly prefer usage-based fees instead of monthly billing. Tempo also accepts any dollar-denominated stablecoin for transaction costs, including USDT and USDC, the two largest tokens in circulation.
Companies building on the Tempo blockchain can begin testing integrations today, according to project documentation.
"Working with Tempo allows Coastal to test and co-create the next generation of financial infrastructure. It’s not just about improving speed or efficiency — it’s about unlocking new capabilities for the broader ecosystem of fintech and embedded finance partners. Together, we’re… https://t.co/grxZmHHBKO
— Coastal (@CoastalBankWA) December 9, 2025
Coastal Bank President Brian Hamilton said his institution is testing how the network’s structure could unlock new capabilities across fintech and embedded-finance partners.
Matt Huang, managing partner at Paradigm, which leads the project’s development effort, told Bloomberg his team will focus on real-world use cases for stablecoins.
The move continues a year-long trend of US institutional participation in crypto, further accelerated by the GENIUS ACT regulatory framework signed into law by President Donald Trump in July 2025.


