Nov. 25 (UPI) — Global digital bank Klarna has launched the KlarnaUSD stablecoin, which heralds the bank’s support of the $27 trillion global stablecoin market.
Sweden-based Klarna is the first bank to use the new Tempoblockchain to launch its stablecoin, which was created by Stripe and Paradigm, and makes it possible to lower the cost of cross-border transactions, the bank announced in a news release on Tuesday.
Such transactions generate an estimated $120 billion in fees every year, and Klarna officials say KlarnaUSD could greatly lower the cost of those fees.
“With 114 million customers and $118 billion annual [gross merchandise value], Klarna has the scale to change payments globally,” said Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Klarna co-founder and chief executive officer.
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“With Klarna’s scale and Tempo’s infrastructure, we can challenge old networks and make payments faster and cheaper for everyone.”
The global stablecoin market is poised to surpass existing legacy systems by the end of the decade, according to Klarna officials, which is why they are entering the global crypto market.
“Crypto is finally at a stage where it is fast, low-cost, secure and built for scale,” Siemiatkowski said. “This is the beginning of Klarna in crypto.”
KlarnaUSD is built by Open Issuance by Bridge and is scheduled to launch on Tempo in 2026.
The stablecoin is undergoing testing, prototyping and integration on Tempo but is not currently available to the public.
Klarna intends to make KlarnaUSD available publicly in 2026, CoinDesk reported.
The bank’s venture into crypto follows moves made by other banks that have added stablecoins and blockchain technology to their operations.
Klarna officials previously dismissed crypto technology, but changing global market conditions have led to their adoption.
Unlike some types of cryptocurrency, a stablecoin is attached to an existing currency, such as the U.S. dollar, to maintain its value.
