Stripe CEO: Stablecoins Outperforming Traditional Payments

Stripe CEO Explains Stablecoin Adoption by Businesses

Stripe CEO Patrick Collison argues that stablecoins are increasingly favored by global businesses due to their superior speed, lower costs, and enhanced reliability compared to traditional payment systems. This viewpoint was shared on a Hacker News thread, following the launch of Tempo, a blockchain designed for stablecoin transactions by Stripe and Paradigm.

Stablecoins: Solving Real-World Problems

Collison initially expressed reservations about crypto's payment capabilities but noted a shift as businesses began utilizing stablecoins for everyday financial operations. He cited Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure provider acquired by Stripe, as an example. Companies like SpaceX use Bridge to manage international money transfers, while Latin American fintech firm DolarApp relies on it for banking solutions. An Argentinian bike importer also leverages Stripe's dashboard for supplier payments.

"These businesses are not using crypto because it’s crypto or for speculative benefit," Collison stated. "They’re performing real-world financial activity, and they’ve found that crypto (via stablecoins) is easier, faster, better than the status quo."

Tempo: A Decentralized Payments Solution

While users may not directly interact with Tempo, Collison envisions it functioning as a behind-the-scenes infrastructure, akin to SWIFT or ACH. He describes it as a "decentralized, internet-scale SWIFT," offering enhanced efficiency.

Key Advantages of Stablecoins for Businesses:

• Near-instant settlement: Reduces trapped liquidity.
• Lower costs: More affordable than card payments.
• Greater reliability: Enhances cross-border transfers.
• Fewer currency conversions: Streamlines international transactions.
• Direct on-chain access to U.S. dollars: Simplifies financial management.

Addressing Regulatory Concerns

Collison dismissed the notion that stablecoin adoption is driven by regulatory arbitrage, emphasizing that stablecoins are now subject to regulations like the GENIUS Act in the U.S. and MiCA in Europe. He asserts their primary appeal lies in resolving the inefficiencies of high-volume money movement.

Tempo's Architecture and Capabilities

Tempo, described as a "payments-first" blockchain, integrates Stripe’s payment expertise with Paradigm’s crypto research. It aims to provide infrastructure tailored for mainstream stablecoin use, emphasizing low fees, optional privacy, and the ability to pay transaction and gas costs in any stablecoin. Its EVM-compatible design, running on the Reth client, enables processing speeds exceeding 100,000 transactions per second with sub-second finality.

The network targets various applications, including global payouts, remittances, tokenized deposits, embedded financial accounts, microtransactions, and agentic payments.

Governance and Design Partners

Stripe and Paradigm emphasize that Tempo will function as a neutral platform secured by a diverse validator set, with plans for fully permissionless validation. The project launched with design partners including Visa, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank, Nubank, Revolut, Shopify, OpenAI, Anthropic, Coupang, DoorDash, Lead Bank, and Mercury.