Tempo, the payments blockchain backed by Stripe and Paradigm, launched its mainnet with a new protocol that lets AI agents pay for services autonomously.
Posted March 18, 2026 at 7:00 pm EST.
Stripe’s payments blockchain went live today, and its most consequential feature has nothing to do with humans. Tempo, the stablecoin-focused chain built by Stripe and Paradigm, launched its mainnet alongside the Machine Payments Protocol, an open standard that lets AI agents pay for services autonomously, without human sign-off at each step.
The protocol introduces a new primitive called “sessions,” essentially OAuth for money. An agent authorizes a spending cap once, then streams micropayments continuously as it consumes services like data, compute, or API calls. Stripe, Visa, and Lightspark have already extended the standard to support cards, wallets, and Bitcoin Lightning respectively.
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The partner list is what gives this weight. Anthropic, OpenAI, DoorDash, Mastercard, Shopify, Nubank, Revolut, and Standard Chartered are all building on Tempo for live payment workloads, including cross-border remittances, global payouts, and embedded finance.
The timing underscores how fast this space is moving. Mastercard this week agreed to buy stablecoin infrastructure startup BVNK for $1.8 billion. Stripe had already acquired stablecoin startup Bridge and crypto wallet firm Privy. Payments infrastructure is quietly becoming the most competitive arena in crypto.
