Stripe acquires the Valora team and launches the Tempo testnet, focusing on low-fee stablecoin payments, reshaping global financial flows under Trump policies
(Background: On the 12th, Stripe opened USDC payments with a flat 1.5% fee, directly targeting Visa and Mastercard)
(Additional context: Will Stripe’s dedicated payment chain Tempo threaten ETH and SOL positions?)

Table of Contents

• From API to Full Infrastructure: Piecing Together the Last Front-End Block
• Tempo: Settlement Layer Designed for High-Frequency Commerce
• Trump 2.0 Policy Expectations Drive Up Stablecoin Imagination
• From Toll Booths to Highways: Formation of a Strategic Closed Loop

Silicon Valley payment company Stripe announced two major shocks yesterday (10): on one side, opening the Tempo blockchain testnet in collaboration with Paradigm, and on the other, announcing the acquisition of the core team of the crypto wallet Valora. The actions only 24 hours apart are interpreted by the industry as Stripe’s move to establish its own stablecoin payment infrastructure in the competitive payment landscape.

From API to Full Infrastructure: Piecing Together the Last Front-End Block

The addition of the Valora team is a typical talent acquisition. According to CoinDesk, Valora’s app is still maintained by early incubator cLabs, with uninterrupted service; Stripe has integrated the team to focus on transforming complex blockchain addresses into familiar interfaces like phone numbers. Previously, Stripe excelled at fiat deposit APIs; now, with Valora’s user experience experts onboard, it has closed the last mile to end users.

Tempo: Settlement Layer Designed for High-Frequency Commerce

The Tempo testnet launched yesterday. Official data shows network fees of approximately 0.1 cents, final transaction confirmation in 0.6 seconds, far lower than banks’ T+2 or credit card fees of 2% to 3%. The platform allows payments with stablecoins for Gas, eliminating the need to hold volatile tokens. Partners include Mastercard, UBS, OpenAI, and Klarna, reflecting a high compliance focus. Stripe aims to facilitate near-zero friction in global commercial fund flows through Tempo.

Trump 2.0 Policy Expectations Drive Up Stablecoin Imagination

Trump is regarded as the beginning of a “golden age” of cryptocurrency regulation; markets are betting that the new administration will relax restrictions on USD stablecoins, releasing long-suppressed innovation demands. Stripe leveraged this momentum by launching Tempo and acquiring the Valora team, aiming to secure a strategic advantage before policies settle. Valora CEO Jackie Bona said:

“Stripe shares our belief that stablecoins can significantly expand global economic participation.”

Her words highlight the core: unlike firms that merely issue stablecoins, Stripe focuses on the overall flow of funds.

From Toll Booths to Highways: Formation of a Strategic Closed Loop

After acquiring Valora’s talents, Stripe now possesses the three key elements: fiat deposit infrastructure, underlying blockchain links, and user-friendly interfaces, completing a service closed loop. For merchants, future integration with Stripe may offer USD stablecoin payments, instant settlement, and extremely low fees, removing the hassle of complicated on-chain operations. For users, transfer actions could be simplified to entering a phone number, providing an experience akin to sending WhatsApp messages.

Currently, competitors like Visa maintain network revenue with fees above 2%. If the Tempo ecosystem expands rapidly under compliance and stablecoin advantages, the protective moat of traditional card organizations could be eroded. Stripe’s strategy is not a single-point innovation but a comprehensive rewrite from the ground up, from the bottom layer to the front end. As Trump’s new policies kick off, a new watershed in the global payment infrastructure may be on the horizon.

Whether Stripe can truly bring stablecoin payments to hundreds of millions of users remains to be seen after the mainnet launch of Tempo and regulatory details are clarified. However, the first shot has been fired, and the battlefield is gradually shifting between transaction fees and confirmation times.

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Will Stripe’s dedicated payment chain Tempo threaten ETH and SOL positions?

Tags: StablecoinstripeTempoTrumpValora