Klarna (NYSE:KLAR) has unveiled its first stablecoin, KlarnaUSD, marking a major strategic shift for the payments giant whose CEO had long been an outspoken critic of cryptocurrencies. The announcement arrives as McKinsey estimates that annual stablecoin settlement volumes have climbed to $27 trillion, underscoring the growing importance of blockchain-based payments.
The Swedish fintech becomes the first licensed bank to roll out a stablecoin on Tempo, a blockchain created by Stripe and Paradigm to serve as a modern payments rail. Klarna currently serves 114 million customers and processes $112 billion in gross merchandise volume each year.
“With Klarna’s scale and Tempo’s infrastructure, we can challenge old networks and make payments faster and cheaper for everyone,” said Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Klarna’s co-founder and CEO. “Crypto is finally at a stage where it is fast, low-cost, secure, and built for scale.”
KlarnaUSD is being developed using Open Issuance by Bridge, the stablecoin platform owned by Stripe. The token is set to debut on Tempo’s mainnet in 2026, but is already available on the testnet for integration and trial runs.
The launch expands Klarna’s longstanding partnership with Stripe, whose tech stack underpins Klarna’s payments operations across 26 international markets. Klarna highlighted that cross-border payments generate roughly $120 billion in annual fees, citing JPMorgan data included in the announcement.
The company noted that this is only the first step in its broader crypto initiatives, saying it plans to reveal multiple new partnerships in the near future. Klarna operates globally as both a digital bank and provider of flexible payment solutions.