Tempo, a new blockchain project backed by Stripe and Paradigm, has secured $500 million in fresh funding in one of the biggest crypto venture rounds of the past few years.
As per a Fortune report, the investment was led by Thrive Capital, run by Joshua Kushner, along with Greenoaks, valuing the startup at about $5 billion. Other well-known firms, including Sequoia, Ribbit Capital, and SV Angel, joined the round. Stripe and Paradigm, which incubated Tempo, did not take part in the raise.
Rather than building another trading-focused blockchain, Tempo is aimed at stablecoins, the dollar-linked cryptocurrencies used mainly for payments.
The project is designed to function as a settlement layer for moving digital dollars across borders, similar to how existing card networks process payments behind the scenes. Early design collaborators include OpenAI, Shopify, Visa, and Deutsche Bank.
Stripe has been expanding further into stablecoin-related infrastructure over the past year. It acquired Bridge for about $1.1 billion and is in the process of buying Privy, a crypto wallet startup. Bridge has since applied for a national trust bank charter, which would allow it to issue stablecoins under new U.S. regulations.
Tempo is part of a broader trend of large tech and financial firms developing their own blockchains, joining planned networks from Robinhood and Circle. Rather than relying on Ethereum or Solana, they are seeking to control the infrastructure layer where fees, scale, and transaction data sit.
Meanwhile, the company has not provided a launch timeline or indicated whether it will issue a token. It has said it will remain “stablecoin agnostic,” allowing multiple digital dollars to run through its network.
The funding round highlights renewed venture interest in crypto infrastructure, especially payment rails, rather than speculative trading projects.