Tempo, a blockchain focused on payments and backed by Stripe and Paradigm, has launched its public testnet. The platform aims to provide instant settlement and low fees, and has gained partnerships with firms like Mastercard and UBS. Tempo recently raised $500 million in a Series A funding round, boosting its valuation to $5 billion.

Dankrad Feist, a prominent Ethereum developer known for his contributions like Danksharding, is leaving the Ethereum Foundation to join Tempo, a stablecoin-focused Layer 1 incubated by Stripe and Paradigm. Despite his departure being seen as a loss for the Ethereum community, Feist emphasized that Tempo shares similar ideals with Ethereum and aims to enhance payment capabilities in the crypto space.