{"investigation":{"slug":"stripe-tempo","entity_name":"Stripe (Tempo)","trust_score":72,"severity_base":null,"score_modifier":0,"confidence":0.6,"status":"published","content_type":"investigation","summary":"This page covers Stripe's stablecoin and blockchain activity: co-incubating the Tempo Layer 1 with Paradigm, acting as a Tempo validator, co-authoring the Machine Payments Protocol (MPP), and owning stablecoin infrastructure provider Bridge. Tempo's homepage quotes Stripe CEO Patrick Collison saying Tempo is Stripe's default blockchain for new features. No enforcement action against these crypto activities was found in the sources reviewed; the main risk themes are centralization of a permissioned validator set, early-stage protocol and regulatory-approval risk, and the limits of the sources available.","sections":[{"content":"Tempo is an Ethereum-compatible Layer 1 blockchain aimed at stablecoin payments, incubated by Stripe and Paradigm. Tempo launched a public testnet on 9 December 2025, naming Kalshi, Mastercard and UBS as design partners (The Block). The Block also reported that Tempo raised a $500 million Series A in October 2025 at a roughly $5 billion valuation, led by Thrive Capital and Greenoaks, and that Stripe and Paradigm did not invest in that round; this funding detail is reported rather than confirmed from a company filing. Tempo's homepage quotes Patrick Collison: \"Tempo is now Stripe's default blockchain for new features.\" The same homepage claims $36+ billion in annualized stablecoin payment volume and $700+ million in stablecoins and tokenized assets; these are self-reported marketing figures that this investigation could not independently verify on-chain.","heading":"Tempo blockchain: structure, launch and funding","sources":[{"url":"https://tempo.xyz","name":"Tempo homepage","type":"official","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/381930/stripe-and-paradigms-payments-focused-blockchain-tempo-launches-public-testnet","name":"The Block: Tempo launches public testnet","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/366725/paradigm-matt-huang-stripe-blockchain-tempo","name":"The Block: Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang to lead Stripe's blockchain project Tempo","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"low"},{"content":"On 14 April 2026 Tempo stated that \"Starting today, Stripe, Visa, and Zodia Custody by Standard Chartered are validators on Tempo,\" and that it would \"continue expanding the validator set with additional partners on our path to permissionless validation.\" This wording implies the validator set is currently limited to selected partners and is not yet permissionless, although the post does not use the word permissioned. Because Stripe both incubated the chain and operates a validator, observers have raised alleged concerns about decentralization and permissioning of corporate-backed chains. Reports differ on whether the initial validator announcement concerned testnet or mainnet; Tempo's own post says the three are validators on Tempo.","heading":"Validator set and decentralization","sources":[{"url":"https://tempo.xyz/blog/stripe-visa-zodia-join-as-validators/","name":"Tempo blog: Stripe, Visa and Zodia join as validators","type":"official","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/amp/post/397286/visa-stripe-zodia-custody-standard-chartered-validators-tempo","name":"The Block: Visa, Stripe and Zodia Custody become validators","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"The Defiant and Fortune reported that Tempo launched its mainnet alongside the Machine Payments Protocol with Stripe in March 2026. MPP is described as an open standard for autonomous agent-to-service payments built on the HTTP 402 status code, with a proposal to the IETF, and with extensions for cards (Stripe, Visa) and Bitcoin Lightning (Lightspark), per secondary reporting. Tempo's homepage links MPP to mpp.dev. The protocol is new; its security record and adoption claims (for example, a directory of over 100 compatible services) come from launch coverage and have not been independently audited here. The full text of The Defiant article could not be retrieved, so launch details rest on headlines and secondary summaries.","heading":"Mainnet and Machine Payments Protocol (MPP)","sources":[{"url":"https://thedefiant.io/tempo-launches-mainnet-unveils-machine-payments-protocol-with-stripe","name":"The Defiant: Tempo goes live on mainnet, unveils MPP with Stripe","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://dc.fortune.com/2026/03/18/stripe-tempo-paradigm-mpp-ai-payments-protocol","name":"Fortune: Stripe, Tempo, Paradigm MPP","type":"news_article","credibility":1}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"Stripe announced the acquisition of stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion in October 2024, and the deal was reported as closed in February 2025. Bridge provides software for businesses to accept and move stablecoins. American Banker reported on 19 February 2026 that the OCC had granted Bridge conditional approval for a national trust bank charter, which once fully approved would let it directly operate stablecoin products and services under federal oversight in line with the GENIUS Act. Reports differ on the exact day of the conditional approval (mid-February 2026). No report of final approval was found. Conditional approval means the charter is not yet final.","heading":"Bridge: stablecoin infrastructure and regulatory status","sources":[{"url":"https://www.americanbanker.com/payments/news/stripe-owned-bridge-acquires-trust-charter-for-stablecoins","name":"American Banker: Stripe-owned Bridge acquires trust charter for stablecoins","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/amp/post/322144/stripe-acquires-stablecoin-platform-bridge-for-1-1-billion-in-cryptos-largest-acquisition-techcrunch","name":"The Block: Stripe acquires Bridge for $1.1 billion","type":"news_article","credibility":2},{"url":"https://decrypt.co/287402/stripe-inks-1-1b-deal-to-buy-stablecoin-platform-bridge?amp=1","name":"Decrypt: Stripe inks $1.1 billion deal to buy Bridge","type":"news_article","credibility":2}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"No regulatory enforcement action, court filing, hack or user-loss incident specific to Tempo, MPP or Bridge was found in the searches performed. This is an absence of findings in a limited search, not a clean bill of health. Systemic risks include dependence on stablecoin issuers, smart-contract and protocol risk in a young chain, and the pending final status of Bridge's charter.","heading":"Enforcement and incident record","sources":[{"url":"https://tempo.xyz","name":"Tempo homepage","type":"official","credibility":2}],"severity":"low"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2024-10","event":"Stripe announces $1.1 billion deal to acquire stablecoin platform Bridge.","source":"Decrypt","source_url":"https://decrypt.co/287402/stripe-inks-1-1b-deal-to-buy-stablecoin-platform-bridge?amp=1"},{"date":"2025-02","event":"Bridge acquisition reported as closed.","source":"The Block","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/amp/post/322144/stripe-acquires-stablecoin-platform-bridge-for-1-1-billion-in-cryptos-largest-acquisition-techcrunch"},{"date":"2025-10","event":"Tempo reportedly raises $500 million Series A at about $5 billion valuation.","source":"The Block","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/381930/stripe-and-paradigms-payments-focused-blockchain-tempo-launches-public-testnet"},{"date":"2025-12-09","event":"Tempo launches public testnet.","source":"The Block","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/381930/stripe-and-paradigms-payments-focused-blockchain-tempo-launches-public-testnet","date_evidence":"Tuesday, December 9, 2025, when Tempo launched its public testnet"},{"date":"2026-02","event":"OCC grants Bridge conditional approval for a national trust bank charter; American Banker article dated 19 Feb 2026.","source":"American Banker","source_url":"https://www.americanbanker.com/payments/news/stripe-owned-bridge-acquires-trust-charter-for-stablecoins"},{"date":"2026-03","event":"Tempo mainnet and Machine Payments Protocol launched with Stripe.","source":"The Defiant","source_url":"https://thedefiant.io/tempo-launches-mainnet-unveils-machine-payments-protocol-with-stripe"},{"date":"2026-04-14","event":"Stripe, Visa and Zodia Custody become validators on Tempo.","source":"Tempo blog","source_url":"https://tempo.xyz/blog/stripe-visa-zodia-join-as-validators/","date_evidence":"The page is dated April 14, 2026 (metadata date: 2026-04-14)"}],"sources_used":[{"url":"https://tempo.xyz","name":"Tempo homepage","type":"official","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20261010022824/https://tempo.xyz/","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-10-10T02:28:24+00:00"},{"url":"https://tempo.xyz/blog/stripe-visa-zodia-join-as-validators/","name":"Tempo blog: Stripe, Visa and Zodia join as validators","type":"official","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260520225524/https://tempo.xyz/blog/stripe-visa-zodia-join-as-validators","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-05-20T22:55:24+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/381930/stripe-and-paradigms-payments-focused-blockchain-tempo-launches-public-testnet","name":"The Block: Tempo launches public testnet","type":"news_article","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20251217180531/https://www.theblock.co/post/381930/stripe-and-paradigms-payments-focused-blockchain-tempo-launches-public-testnet","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2025-12-17T18:05:31+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/366725/paradigm-matt-huang-stripe-blockchain-tempo","name":"The Block: Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang to lead Tempo","type":"news_article","archive_url":null,"credibility":2,"archive_error":"error:no-request","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/amp/post/397286/visa-stripe-zodia-custody-standard-chartered-validators-tempo","name":"The Block: Visa, Stripe and Zodia Custody become validators","type":"news_article","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260415073321/https://www.theblock.co/amp/post/397286/visa-stripe-zodia-custody-standard-chartered-validators-tempo","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-04-15T07:33:21+00:00"},{"url":"https://thedefiant.io/tempo-launches-mainnet-unveils-machine-payments-protocol-with-stripe","name":"The Defiant: Tempo goes live on mainnet, unveils MPP with Stripe","type":"news_article","archive_url":null,"credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://dc.fortune.com/2026/03/18/stripe-tempo-paradigm-mpp-ai-payments-protocol","name":"Fortune: Stripe, Tempo, Paradigm MPP","type":"news_article","archive_url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20261013185541/https://fortune.com/2026/03/18/stripe-tempo-paradigm-mpp-ai-payments-protocol/","credibility":1,"archive_timestamp":"2026-10-13T18:55:41+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.americanbanker.com/payments/news/stripe-owned-bridge-acquires-trust-charter-for-stablecoins","name":"American Banker: Bridge trust charter","type":"news_article","archive_url":"http://web.archive.org/web/20260806164129/https://www.americanbanker.com/payments/news/stripe-owned-bridge-acquires-trust-charter-for-stablecoins","credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":"2026-08-06T16:41:29+00:00"},{"url":"https://www.theblock.co/amp/post/322144/stripe-acquires-stablecoin-platform-bridge-for-1-1-billion-in-cryptos-largest-acquisition-techcrunch","name":"The Block: Stripe acquires Bridge","type":"news_article","archive_url":null,"credibility":2,"archive_error":"error:no-request","archive_status":"unarchivable","archive_timestamp":null},{"url":"https://decrypt.co/287402/stripe-inks-1-1b-deal-to-buy-stablecoin-platform-bridge?amp=1","name":"Decrypt: Stripe buys Bridge","type":"news_article","archive_url":null,"credibility":2,"archive_timestamp":null}],"source_tags":[],"addresses":[],"reviewed":false,"reviewed_by":null,"model_used":"claude-code-investigator","created_at":"2026-10-13T05:17:37.54533+00:00","updated_at":"2026-10-13T19:36:58.064992+00:00"},"source_quality":{"total":10,"tier1":0,"tier2":5,"tier3":0,"unrated":5},"follower_count":null,"content_updated_at":"2026-10-13T05:17:37.801Z","last_fact_checked_at":null,"fact_check_next_allowed_at":null,"update_next_allowed_at":null}