Stripe-backed Tempo taps $7.5 billion DeFi lender Morpho to expand beyond payments

Tempo, the Stripe and Paradigm-backed blockchain focused on stablecoin payments, is tapping into decentralized finance (DeFi) by bringing Morpho's $7.5 billion lending marketplace onto the network.

The launch gives Tempo users access to one of DeFi’s largest lending protocols, allowing fintechs and enterprises building on the chain to tap crypto-native borrowing and yield products alongside payments infrastructure.

The move underscores a growing trend among fintech and payments firms looking to turn stablecoin balances into productive assets instead of leaving them idle. Until now, Tempo has predominantly positioned itself as a blockchain for moving money, offering stablecoin transfers, foreign exchange and settlement tools for businesses.

Morpho's arrival broadens that offering into a more complete financial stack where companies can also lend, borrow and earn yield on digital assets directly onchain. This way, payment providers and companies park their idle stablecoin stash in curated lending markets to generate yield without leaving the chain.

"We're seeing growing demand from enterprises looking to integrate DeFi capabilities into their payments products and create more value for their users," said Eric Kang, GTM at Tempo.

Morpho operates a modular lending system where market curators can set risk rules and asset parameters for different pools. Risk firms Gauntlet and Sentora said they are beginning to offer curated markets on Tempo, while oracle provider RedStone is supplying price feeds for stablecoins, bitcoin-backed assets and tokenized real-world assets used across the lending markets.

Tempo is part of the rising trend of institution-focused blockchains like Circle's Arc and Canton Network, backed by Wall Street giants like Nasdaq and Goldman Sachs. The project reportedly raised $500 million last year at $5 billion valuation and the chain launched in March with support from a range of global companies including Visa, Mastercard, Revolut, Shopify, Klarna and UBS.