Klarna, the global digital bank and flexible payments giant, has taken a bold step into the crypto economy with the launch of KlarnaUSD, its first-ever stablecoin. The move marks a major shift for the company—especially considering its CEO was once openly skeptical of crypto. Klarna joins the stablecoin market at a time when the sector has exploded; McKinsey estimates that stablecoin transactions now exceed $27 trillion annually and may surpass traditional payment networks before the decade ends.
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KlarnaUSD also makes Klarna the first bank to launch a stablecoin on Tempo, a new blockchain created by Stripe and Paradigm specifically for rapid, cost-efficient payments. With cross-border fees costing consumers and businesses an estimated $120 billion each year, Klarna believes that stablecoins can deliver a more affordable and efficient alternative for global payments.
“With 114 million customers and $112 billion in annual GMV, Klarna has the scale to influence global payments,” said Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Klarna’s co-founder and CEO. He added that the combination of Klarna’s reach and Tempo’s infrastructure creates a powerful opportunity to challenge legacy networks and significantly reduce payment friction. “Crypto is finally at a stage where it’s fast, low-cost, secure, and built for scale,” he said, calling this launch “the beginning of Klarna in crypto.”
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KlarnaUSD is being developed using Open Issuance, a stablecoin issuance platform built by Bridge a Stripe-owned company. The stablecoin is set to go live on Tempo’s mainnet in 2026, though it’s already active on the testnet for internal testing and integration. This early access gives Klarna a head start in refining user experience and building new services powered by blockchain technology.
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The partnership builds on Klarna’s long-standing relationship with Stripe, which already supports Klarna’s payments infrastructure across 26 global markets. Klarna has hinted that this is only the start of its public crypto roadmap, with another major partner announcement expected in the coming weeks.
This marks a pivotal moment for both Klarna and the broader payments industry one where digital banking, blockchain, and global commerce begin to converge in a meaningful way.
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