Stripe Announces L1 Tempo for Processing Stablecoin Payments Tempo is being developed by Stripe, in collaboration with Paradigm, as a high-performance, payments-focused Layer‑1 blockchain for stablecoin payments. Whether Stripe’s upcoming Tempo blockchain will see mass adoption over fully regulated stablecoins may ultimately come down to one factor: transaction fees. Stripe has not yet disclosed what it will charge businesses for payments processed on Tempo. This leaves an open question: will Tempo transactions be priced like Stripe’s current credit card payments at 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction, closer to Stripe’s stablecoin “Pay with Crypto” fee of 1.5%, or more like the near-zero costs of sending a stablecoin on a public network? Stripe’s Current Pricing Benchmarks Today, Stripe’s standard online credit card processing fee in the U.S. is 2.9% plus $0.30 per successful transaction. Its “Pay with Crypto” option for stablecoins such as USDC, USDP, and USDG charges merchants 1.5% of the transaction amount when funds settle as U.S. dollars in the Stripe account. In contrast, a pure stablecoin payment on public L1 rails can cost only pennies. What We Know About Tempo According to a CoinDesk report summarizing a Fortune article, Tempo is a high-performance, Ethereum-compatible layer-1 blockchain designed for payments. It is being built in partnership with venture firm Paradigm. No public statements have been made about a native token or fee structure. Tempo builds on Stripe’s recent acquisitions: Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure company Stripe completed buying in February 2025 and Privy, a wallet infrastructure company Stripe announced plans to acquire in June 2025. Why Fees Will Decide Adoption: If Stripe applies a fee structure similar to its current card processing rates, merchants may find only modest savings compared to credit cards, and significantly less savings than using pure stablecoin payments directly over low-cost networks. On the other hand, if Tempo’s merchant fees are set close to the underlying blockchain costs—often just fractions of a cent—Stripe could offer a compelling alternative that combines low costs with its strong merchant integration and payment tools. For businesses focused on maximizing their margins, the decision will hinge on whether Stripe’s new chain can compete not just on speed and usability, but on cost. #stablecoins #StablecoinSolutions #GENIUSAct