Klarna launches KlarnaUSD stablecoin on Tempo blockchain in first crypto move

Klarna announced on 25 November 2025 the launch of KlarnaUSD, its first stablecoin, marking the Swedish buy-now-pay-later group's entry into the digital-assets market. The stablecoin runs on Tempo, described in Klarna's press release as a new independent blockchain purpose-built for payments. Klarna's press materials describe Tempo as having been started by Stripe and Paradigm — though independent verification of that founding claim is not available from sources outside Klarna's own announcement.

What Was Announced

• KlarnaUSD is Klarna's first stablecoin product, launched on 25 November 2025.
• It operates on Tempo, characterised in Klarna's press release as a payments-focused blockchain.
• Klarna's press materials describe the founding of Tempo as involving Stripe and Paradigm; this characterisation is drawn solely from Klarna's own announcement and has not been independently corroborated in the sources reviewed.
• The announcement does not detail reserve composition, redemption mechanisms or custody arrangements for KlarnaUSD.

The Numbers Behind the Launch

Klarna's press release cites a figure — attributed within that release to McKinsey — that stablecoin transactions have reached $27 trillion annually. The underlying McKinsey report was not among the sources successfully reviewed, and the figure cannot be independently verified from material available to this publication.

The same release also cites a figure of $120 billion in annual cross-border payment transaction fees. The underlying source for that figure is referenced in a footnote within Klarna's press materials but was not independently confirmed in sources reviewed.

Klarna describes itself in the release as serving 114 million customers with $118 billion in annual gross merchandise value. These figures originate from Klarna's own press materials and have not been independently verified.

A Notable Reversal

Klarna chief executive Sebastian Siemiatkowski was, by his own company's account and in secondary coverage reviewed, a vocal crypto sceptic prior to this announcement. The PaymentsJournal noted the reversal in a headline characterising Klarna as "Once a Crypto Skeptic." In the press release, Siemiatkowski is quoted arguing that the combination of Klarna's consumer scale and Tempo's infrastructure positions the company to challenge established payment networks and reduce costs — and describing the launch as "the beginning of Klarna in crypto."

Siemiatkowski argued in the press release that cryptocurrency infrastructure has now reached a stage that is fast, low-cost, secure and built for scale — a notable shift from his earlier public scepticism.

Why It Matters

Stablecoin transaction volumes — at the scale cited in Klarna's announcement materials, whatever the precise figure — have reached a level that is drawing attention from established payments businesses. The arrival of a large consumer-facing payments operator in stablecoin issuance is a meaningful development for the sector, even if McKinsey's projection — cited in Klarna's press release — that stablecoins could overtake legacy networks before the decade is out has not been independently verified from the primary source.

The launch raises distinct questions — none addressed in the announcement materials reviewed — about regulatory treatment, reserve transparency and the interaction between stablecoin infrastructure and existing consumer protection frameworks.

What Remains Unclear

Several material details are absent from the announcement materials reviewed:

• The regulatory status of KlarnaUSD in the European Union and other jurisdictions where Klarna operates.
• Reserve backing, audit arrangements or redemption terms for the stablecoin.
• The terms of Klarna's relationship with Tempo and the nature of any commercial arrangement with Stripe or Paradigm.
• Whether KlarnaUSD will be made available directly to Klarna's consumer base — described in Klarna's own press materials as 114 million customers — or used primarily in back-end settlement infrastructure.

For a company of Klarna's stated consumer reach (114 million customers, per its own press materials), the answers to those questions will matter as much as the launch itself.