Tempo, a Layer 1 blockchain incubated by Stripe and Paradigm, experienced significant stablecoin market growth this week. The chain's aggregate stablecoin market cap increased approximately $450 million, or 161%, bringing the total stablecoin supply to around $729 million according to DefiLlama data.
The growth was driven by the launch of Open USD, or OUSD, which debuted on Tempo on September 30, 2026. OUSD now holds a market cap of approximately $471.72 million, representing roughly 64.7% of Tempo's total stablecoin market.
OUSD's Institutional Framework
OUSD was designed for institutional users, with reserves held at BlackRock, Lead Bank, and BNY Mellon. The stablecoin offers zero fees for minting or redeeming, imposes no volume caps, and launched with more than $400 million in liquidity across decentralized exchanges and other platforms.
Major payment networks have partnered with OUSD, including Coinbase, Stripe, and Visa, with Mastercard expected to follow.
Tempo's Infrastructure
Tempo's mainnet launched on March 18, 2026, following a $500 million Series A funding round in October 2025 at a $5 billion valuation. The blockchain is built on Ethereum's architecture but optimized for stablecoin payments at enterprise scale, with transaction fees averaging below $0.001.
A distinctive feature of Tempo is its lack of a native token. Transaction fees are paid in supported stablecoins instead.
Other stablecoins on Tempo include USDC with $92.76 million, USDBridge with $86.02 million, and pathUSD with $60.99 million. The chain is developing partnerships with OpenAI and Visa, though these agreements remain pending finalization.
