Sweden's buy now pay later ( BNPL ) payment giant Klarna announced the launch of the dollar stablecoin KlarnaUSD, which is not based on Ethereum, but rather the enterprise-level L1 blockchain Tempo created by Stripe and Paradigm, sparking heated discussions. As traditional giants are successively launching their own stablecoins or blockchains, the narrative of Ethereum as the world computer is facing unprecedented challenges.
KlarnaUSD is launched: A large fintech company chooses Tempo over Ethereum.
Swedish fintech giant Klarna announced today the launch of its own USD stablecoin KlarnaUSD, becoming the first digital bank to issue a coin on the Tempo Blockchain. Tempo is a new L1 created in collaboration with Stripe and Paradigm, focusing on low cost, high performance, and enterprise-grade compliance architecture.
( Inventory of Competitive Stablecoin L1 Blockchains: Who Can Seize the Global “On-Chain Payment” Battleground? )
Klarna stated that KlarnaUSD is launched through the Open Issuance tool for issuing stablecoins under Stripe, and it is currently running on the Tempo testnet, with the mainnet expected to officially launch in 2026.
The team emphasized that they are currently only exploring the internal use of stablecoin technology, such as reducing the cost of cross-border payments, and will not introduce its installment payment (BNPL) product in the short term.
Is the role of Ethereum at risk as enterprises build their own “new payment channels”?
The decision to choose Tempo over Ethereum has quickly sparked heated discussions within the crypto community. Analysts generally believe that companies primarily focused on fintech startups are opting to bypass Ethereum and build their own chains to meet performance, compliance, and merchant integration needs.
It is not difficult to see that the strategic significance of Tempo is far greater than that of a “neutral” public blockchain. The on-chain payment infrastructure created by Stripe is capable of connecting millions of merchants with global financial flows, optimizing the acquiring, clearing, and cross-border settlement processes in a controlled environment; in contrast, Ethereum already differs in its objectives and target audience.
Of course, if this trend continues, the enterprise blockchain led by Tempo will continue to erode Ethereum's market share in stablecoins and payments.
(No one cares about your chain: After enterprise-level L1 vertical integration, is there still a place for Ethereum and L2?)
Will Tempo issue coins? The community is optimistic: the ICO scale will break historical records.
Crypto investors approach from another angle. Jai Bhavnani, co-founder of Waymont, quoted an article by Dragonfly partner Omar saying, “If Tempo issues a token, it could potentially become the largest ICO event in history since Ethereum.”
This will be different from all past ICOs like EOS, because Tempo indeed has the capability to do things right.
Blockworks co-founder Yano also believes that issuing coins is imperative, even aiming for a market cap among the top 20 tokens next year: “This is seen as a way to gain equity in Stripe within the cryptocurrency space, coupled with a pure bet on the stablecoin narrative.”
The blooming of stablecoins: corporate giants fully joining in, dividing the market landscape.
The launch of KlarnaUSD is another product in this year's stablecoin craze. Since the passage of the GENIUS Act in the United States, the issuance and adoption of new stablecoins has rapidly increased, including the launch of mUSD by the MetaMask wallet, and Western Union's intention to issue various stablecoins such as USDPT and WUUSD.
At the same time, Visa continues to add support for multi-chain stablecoin settlements, and payment providers such as PayPal and Stripe are actively establishing their own issuance frameworks.
As the sector with the most practical demand in the current cryptocurrency market, the global stablecoin scale has reached 304 billion USD.
Ethereum's Next Step: Infiltrate or Accommodate?
Klarna's choice of Tempo reignites the debate within the crypto community and raises concerns about market erosion.
Nowadays, the rise of Tempo is not about competition among new public chains, but rather a trend of “enterprise-level financial systems transitioning to their own L1”. After all, the certainty, control, and profit margins brought about by vertical integration are far more attractive than connecting to Ethereum or L2 technologies.
How Ethereum clarifies its positioning and role in the future will once again become a key issue for the development of the network.
This article discusses payment giant Klarna's choice to launch its own stablecoin through Tempo, while Ethereum faces neglect from enterprise-level L1? Originally appeared on Chain News ABMedia.
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