Fintech company Stripe is developing a new layer-1 blockchain named "Tempo" in partnership with crypto venture capital firm Paradigm. Tempo is described as a high-performance, payments-focused blockchain that is Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible. The project has been developed in stealth mode with a small team and aims to enhance Stripe's crypto infrastructure and stablecoin capabilities. Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang has been appointed CEO of the Tempo blockchain initiative while retaining his role at Paradigm. Meanwhile, stablecoin issuer Circle reported its first quarterly earnings since going public, posting $658 million in revenue for Q2 2025, a 53% year-over-year increase, driven by a 90% rise in USDC stablecoin circulation, which reached $61.3 billion at the end of the quarter. Circle also announced plans to launch "Arc," an open, EVM-compatible layer-1 blockchain focused on stablecoin finance, payments, foreign exchange, and capital markets applications. Arc will use USDC as its native gas token and is expected to launch its public testnet between September and November 2025. Circle's shares rose following the earnings report, despite a net loss of $482 million largely due to one-time IPO-related charges. The launch of Arc and Stripe's Tempo blockchain reflect growing institutional efforts to build dedicated blockchain infrastructure for stablecoins and payments.