News linked to both this project and an event.
According to Fortune, payment giant American Express announced this week the launch of an agent commerce developer toolkit and pledged transaction protection for errors made by AI agents registered on its network. Agent commerce refers to payments or financial activities conducted on behalf of users by AI agents; while current applications remain limited, the concept has already drawn attention from major payment providers. American Express stated that its existing dispute resolution mechanisms can effectively address transaction risks introduced by AI agents and that it mitigates customer disputes and chargebacks by issuing payment credentials and implementing identity verification measures exclusively for verified agents. Several other payment companies—including Mastercard, Visa, and Stripe—have recently rolled out related infrastructure. American Express also revealed it is exploring the use of stablecoins in settlement but did not disclose specific plans.
According to The Block, Visa, Stripe, and Zodia Custody—a digital asset custody firm backed by Standard Chartered Bank—have become the first validators on the Tempo payment blockchain. Tempo is an Ethereum-compatible Layer 1 blockchain designed specifically for high-throughput payments and stablecoin settlement, primarily targeting large institutions. Validators are responsible for verifying, ordering, and finalizing on-chain transactions, and are typically mature organizations with global operational capabilities. Tempo was incubated by Stripe and Paradigm, launched its private testnet in September 2025, and closed a $500 million Series A funding round in October at a valuation of approximately $5 billion. Recently, Tempo introduced its “Agent Payments” protocol—executed by AI agents—and has attracted infrastructure integrations including RedStone.
According to Cointelegraph, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis released a report stating that stablecoin-adjusted transaction volume is projected to reach $719 trillion by 2035—marking a substantial increase from $28 trillion in 2025. If two major macro catalysts align, this figure could double further to $15 trillion, surpassing the current annual global cross-border payment volume of approximately $10 trillion. The two catalysts are: (1) the transfer of over $100 trillion in wealth from the Baby Boomer generation to younger, crypto-native generations; and (2) stablecoins fully replacing traditional payment rails as the default payment infrastructure. Rachael Lucas, an analyst at Australian crypto exchange BTC Markets, noted that strategic moves—including Stripe’s acquisition of Bridge and Mastercard’s partnership with BVNK—are concrete steps forward. Coupled with regulatory clarity provided by the GENIUS Act, institutional participation is expected to expand significantly.