Tempo, the payments blockchain co-developed by Stripe and Paradigm, launched its mainnet on March 18, 2026.
The network processes high-volume, low-cost stablecoin transactions-designed to match the speed and simplicity of card payments, but available 24/7.
It introduces the Machine Payments Protocol, co-built with Stripe, allowing AI agents to autonomously pay for data, compute, or services without human intervention.
Major financial partners-including Mastercard, UBS, Klarna, and Visa-tested Tempo during its December 2025 testnet, focusing on cross-border transfers and mass payouts.
The launch aligns with a broader industry pivot: Mastercard’s $1.8 billion acquisition of BVNK and Stripe’s prior purchases of Bridge and Privy signal deep institutional commitment to stablecoin infrastructure.
Tempo targets agentic finance-a fast-growing segment where AI agents execute microtransactions, projected to reach $3-$5 trillion globally by 2030.
Worldcoin, co-founded by Sam Altman, recently launched AgentKit-integrating with Coinbase and Cloudflare’s x402 protocol-to cryptographically verify that AI agents represent real humans via World ID and zero-knowledge proofs.