Kraken just became the first major US centralized exchange to offer native support for USDC.e deposits and withdrawals on Tempo, the payments-first Layer 1 blockchain that’s been quietly building with some very recognizable backers.
The move, which also includes support for USDT0 on the same network, marks a significant step in connecting traditional exchange infrastructure with a chain specifically designed to make stablecoin transactions feel less like blockchain and more like, well, payments.
What Tempo actually is, and why it matters
Tempo is a Layer 1 blockchain developed in collaboration with Paradigm and Stripe. Paradigm is one of crypto’s most influential venture firms, and Stripe is the payments giant that processes transactions for millions of businesses worldwide.
The technical specs reflect that focus. Settlement times on Tempo average roughly 0.5 to 0.6 seconds, with no chain reorganizations. Tempo also features stablecoin-native gas fees, eliminating the need to hold a separate volatile token just to move money around. Tempo also features dedicated processing lanes for payments, creating express lanes for different transaction types rather than forcing everything into a single congested queue.
