Visa has joined the Stripe-backed Tempo blockchain as an anchor validator, marking a major step by traditional payments firms into crypto infrastructure.
The payments giant joins Stripe and Zodia Custody by Standard Chartered as core validators on the layer-1 network designed for real-time payments and agentic commerce.
“We’ve spent years building our expertise in blockchain, and now we’re expanding that work by running critical blockchain infrastructure ourselves,”
Said Visa Head of Crypto, Cuy Sheffield.
The companies collectively process trillions of dollars annually and are now directly validating transactions on a blockchain network, signalling growing institutional confidence in crypto-based payment systems.
Tempo, developed by Stripe and crypto venture firm Paradigm, recently launched its mainnet alongside its Machine Payments Protocol, enabling AI agents to execute payments autonomously.
As a validator, Visa will help process transactions into blocks and earn stablecoin rewards, reinforcing its role in building enterprise-grade blockchain infrastructure.
The move highlights accelerating convergence between traditional finance and digital asset networks, particularly in stablecoin payments and real-time settlement systems.