Tempo will be led by Matt Huang, Paradigm’s co-founder and managing partner.
Stripe and venture capital firm Paradigm have announced their joint venture Tempo, a blockchain built around stablecoins. Tempo is jointly incubated by the two companies and will be led by Matt Huang, Paradigm’s co-founder and managing partner.
“Tempo is purpose-built for stablecoins and real-world payments, born from Stripe’s experience in global payments and Paradigm’s expertise in crypto tech,” Huang said in a blogpost yesterday (4 September).
According to the post, the blockchain will be designed with input from global leaders in AI, e-commerce and financial services including Anthropic, OpenAI, Revolut, Visa and Standard Chartered.
Huang said that Tempo will complement existing crypto infrastructure and offer a way for large enterprises to come on chain, increasing the adoption of crypto tools and infrastructure. It is a Layer 1 blockchain, meaning it is not built on top of other protocols – similar to Ethereum, Bitcoin and Solana.
The new company will have its own full-time team, Huang added. Reports first emerged about Stripe and Paradigm’s new venture after a job listing for the new company was identified by Fortune.
Alongside his new role at Tempo, Huang will continue to lead Paradigm alongside Alana Palmedo, the VC’s managing partner. Huang has also been a board member at Stripe since 2021.
Paradigm was co-founded by Huang, who is also a former Sequoia partner, alongside Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam in 2018. According to 2024 data from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the crypto venture has roughly $12.7bn in assets under management.
Stripe, one of the largest fintech’s globally, was valued at more than $90bn this year. In 2024, the fintech generated $1.4trn in total payment volume, up by nearly 40pc compared to the previous year.
The Ireland and US-headquartered company has been showing strong interest in cryptocurrency, bringing back crypto payments as part of its services after taking a hiatus in 2018. In June, Stripe acquired the US-based crypto wallet provider Privy for an undisclosed sum.
While last year, the company acquired stablecoin platform Bridge in a $1.1bn deal, which marked the largest acquisition for the company.
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