Stripe-led payments blockchain Tempo goes live with protocol for AI agents

Tempo, the payments-focused blockchain developed by payments giant Stripe and crypto investment firm Paradigm, launched its mainnet on Wednesday, bringing its stablecoin payment system out of testing and into live use.

The network is built to process large numbers of transactions quickly and at low cost. It aims to make sending money with stablecoins — digital tokens tied to currencies like the U.S. dollar — feel as simple as using a card or bank transfer, but faster and available at all times.

The launch follows a public testnet that began in December, when companies including Mastercard, UBS, Klarna and Visa started experimenting with sending payments on the network. That phase allowed developers to test how stablecoins could handle everyday financial activity, such as payouts and cross-border transfers.

Alongside the mainnet launch, Tempo introduced the Machine Payments Protocol, a system co-developed with Stripe that lets software programs make payments on their own. This allows applications or artificial intelligence (AI) tools to pay for services such as data or computing power without human approval at each step.

Tempo is also targeting more familiar uses, such as sending money across borders or paying large groups of workers at once. These processes often take days and involve multiple intermediaries.

The launch comes as global payments processing firms increasingly see blockchain rails and stablecoins as a key piece of plumbing for cross-border finances. Mastercard said this week it will acquire stablecoin infrastructure startup BVNK for $1.8 billion to embed digital dollars into its payment network. That deal followed Stripe's buying of stablecoin startup Bridge and crypto wallet firm Privy.

Tempo also seeks to establish a foothold in agentic finance, an emerging trend in which AI agents use blockchains to pay for certain services that require micro payments.

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