Klarna launched KlarnaUSDits first stablecoin and first bank-issued token to debut on Tempo, a new payments-focused blockchain built by Stripe and Paradigm.
The move, announced on Tuesday (November 25), allows the Sweden-based digital bank and payments provider to test blockchain-based settlement at a time when stablecoin activity is growing rapidly. McKinsey estimates that the asset class now supports $27 trillion in annual transaction volume and could overtake traditional payment networks before the end of the decade. Klarna said it sees stablecoins as a potential lever to reduce cross-border payment costs, a segment that generates around $120 billion in fees globally each year.
KlarnaUSD is issued through Open Issuance by Bridge, a stable infrastructure platform owned by Stripe. The token is expected to go live on Tempo’s mainnet in 2026 and is currently only active on the network’s testnet, where it is not publicly available. Klarna said the controlled environment provides space for early technical integration, prototyping and risk assessment before a full launch.
In announcing the stablecoin, Klarna highlighted the potential of its scale – 114 million customers and $112 billion in annual gross merchandise volume – to accelerate the adoption of lower-cost blockchain payment rails.
The initiative marks a change for Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski, who has always been skeptical of crypto.
“With Klarna’s scale and Tempo’s infrastructure, we can challenge legacy networks and make payments faster and cheaper for everyone,” Siemiatkowski said in a statement. He added that crypto infrastructure has reached a point of speed, security and cost-effectiveness suitable for high-volume payments use cases.
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The initiative also expands Klarna’s existing relationship with Stripe, which already supports the company’s payments infrastructure in 26 markets. Klarna said the KlarnaUSD announcement is the first in a broader set of upcoming crypto-related initiatives and plans to reveal an additional partner in the coming weeks.
Notably, Stripe’s stablecoin arm, Bridge, has arrived under fire recently. Four organizations (Independent Community Bankers of America(ICBA), theBanking Policy Institute(BPI), theNational Coalition for Community Reinvestment(NRC) andFair Finance Monitoring(FFW)) recently submitted comments to theOffice of the Comptroller of the Currencyagainst Bridge’s request for a national trust bank charter.
Overall, the stablecoin space is evolving rapidly. Stablecoin payment platformPay3 recently launched its Agent payments platformusing artificial intelligence (AI) agents to carry out transactions. HSBC is apparentlyexpansion its tokenized deposit services. The visa is also kissing Stable coins.
“We think it will be real. The technology is too efficient. It is very suitable for this type of deployment,”Marc Nelsenchief product officer at Visa Commercial Money Solutions, recently told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster.
