Stripe- and Paradigm-incubated blockchain startup Tempo launched its mainnet on Wednesday, simultaneously releasing the Machine Payment Protocol (MPP) — an open standard for autonomous machine-to-machine transactions co-developed with Stripe.

What Is Tempo?

Tempo is a payments-focused Layer 1 blockchain built specifically for high-frequency, real-world settlements. Unlike general-purpose chains, it targets the specific demands of sub-second finality and stablecoin-based fees. There is no native gas token: transaction costs are paid in any major stablecoin via an integrated AMM using the TIP-20 standard. The chain is EVM compatible and ISO 20022 compliant, targeting cross-border and B2B payment flows. Tempo raised $500 million at a $5 billion valuation in 2025 from investors including Thrive Capital and Greenoaks.

Machine Payment Protocol

The MPP is the more consequential piece of Wednesday's announcement. The open-source protocol establishes a standardized way for AI agents and software systems to send and receive payments autonomously — no human intermediary required. It supports both fiat and cryptocurrency, and Visa contributed specifications enabling agents to pay with standard credit and debit cards.

"Our team just came up with what we thought was the most elegant, minimal, efficient protocol that anyone can extend without our permission," said Matt Huang, Paradigm co-founder and Tempo co-founder, in an interview with Fortune.

Competitive Landscape

Tempo isn't alone in the agentic payments space. Coinbase has its own x402 protocol, while Google released a payments scheme in September 2025. But Tempo's combination of Stripe's infrastructure credibility, institutional backers like Visa, Klarna, Nubank, and Shopify, and a purpose-built chain gives it one of the strongest launch positions in the space. The testnet ran for three and a half months before today's mainnet go-live.

Developers can start building on Tempo immediately via public RPC endpoints.