Summary: Klarna’s new KlarnaUSD stablecoin is a concrete signal that payment stablecoins have shifted from pilot to product. This post breaks down what’s actually new in Klarna’s approach, what to copy (and avoid), and how to architect a compliant, chain‑agnostic stablecoin stack your CFO and regulators will sign off on in 2026.

KlarnaUSD and the New Wave of Payment Stablecoins: What Devs Should Copy (and Avoid)

Decision-makers aren’t asking “if” they should use stablecoins anymore—they’re asking “which rails, where, and under what license.” Klarna’s KlarnaUSD (KUSD) announcement on November 25, 2025 is the clearest proof yet that stablecoins are moving into mainstream payments, not just crypto trading. Here’s what’s real, what matters for builders, and how to execute with precision.

Klarna is launching a USD‑backed stablecoin called KlarnaUSD, live on testnet now and slated for mainnet in 2026. It’s being issued via Bridge’s Open Issuance platform and will settle on Tempo, a payments‑focused L1 incubated by Stripe and Paradigm. Klarna says the first target is cheaper cross‑border and everyday payments at Klarna scale. (investors.klarna.com)
Tempo is an EVM‑compatible chain focused on payments: sub‑second finality, target 100k+ TPS, stablecoin‑denominated fees, and neutrality across issuers; it’s positioned as enterprise infrastructure, not a trading venue. (paradigm.xyz)
Stripe has quietly assembled a full stack for stablecoin payments—re‑enabling USDC acceptance (Solana, Ethereum, Polygon), acquiring Bridge for $1.1B, and now powering issuance for third parties via Open Issuance. (coindesk.com)
The regulatory backdrop changed in 2025: in the U.S., the bipartisan GENIUS Act created a federal regime for payment stablecoin issuers; in the EU, MiCA’s stablecoin rules have been live since June 30, 2024. If you’re launching or accepting payment stablecoins in 2026, both frameworks will shape your design choices. (whitehouse.gov)

Below is an actionable blueprint with concrete gotchas and examples our engineers at 7Block Labs would follow today.

What’s truly new in Klarna’s approach

A payments‑first chain that hides the crypto UX
Tempo’s design goals—stablecoin fees, sub‑second finality, and EVM compatibility—let issuers abstract gas and make “tap‑and‑pay” viable without forcing end users to juggle multiple coins or wallets. This is different from launching on a DeFi‑centric chain, then bolting on payment UX later. (paradigm.xyz)
Issuance via a vertically integrated stablecoin platform
Bridge’s Open Issuance bundles reserve management (cash/USTs), compliance tooling, on/off‑ramps, cards, and shared liquidity/interoperability among participating stablecoins. That compresses time‑to‑market and avoids a spaghetti of vendors. (stripe.com)
Enterprise distribution from day one
Because Stripe already turned stablecoin acceptance back on for merchants (USDC) and card networks like Visa are expanding stablecoin settlement, Klarna can plug KUSD into existing payouts, refunds, and settlement flows, not just crypto exchanges. (coindesk.com)
Regulatory timing
With GENIUS Act in the U.S. and MiCA in the EU, teams can design to concrete licensing, redemption, reserve, and disclosure rules instead of “best effort.” Expect auditors and bank partners to insist on those specifics in 2026. (whitehouse.gov)

What to copy from KlarnaUSD (the good patterns)

Copy: Payment chain ergonomics
- Prioritize chains that support sub‑second finality, high throughput, and stablecoin‑denominated fees (or robust fee sponsorship) so end users never need a separate gas token. This is explicitly part of Tempo’s model. (paradigm.xyz)
Copy: Industrial issuance and reserve ops on day one
- Use a mature issuance stack (like Open Issuance) to standardize reserve composition (cash/T‑bills), audit cadence, black/whitelists, emergency controls, and global on/off‑ramps. Not glamorous—but these are the questions your CFO, regulator, and card partners will ask in the first meeting. (bridge.xyz)
Copy: Multi‑rail acceptance from the start
- You’ll need to accept/route third‑party stablecoins (USDC, PYUSD, RLUSD) alongside your own. Stripe’s USDC acceptance and Visa’s settlement support for multiple stablecoins are the model. Build for customer choice. (coindesk.com)
Copy: Clear, public roadmap with dates and environments
- Klarna published “testnet now, mainnet 2026.” That reduces vendor risk for partners and gives your engineering and audit teams a schedule to attach to. Ship your testnet endpoints, SDKs, and sandbox docs publicly. (investors.klarna.com)

What to avoid (pitfalls we see in 2024–2025 stablecoin projects)

Avoid: Single‑chain lock‑in on a newborn L1
- Tempo is promising, but new. To de‑risk, design a multi‑rail strategy that includes established networks where your users already are (e.g., Solana for consumer UX, Ethereum L2s for enterprise settlement, and CCTP for USDC mobility). (paxos.com)
Avoid: “Issue first, compliance later”
- Under GENIUS Act, issuance without proper authorization can trigger serious penalties; MiCA requires EMT issuers to be licensed in the EU with strict redemption at par and reserve rules. Don’t retro‑fit. Start with licensing and redemption SLAs in your PRD. (lw.com)
Avoid: Gas UX dead‑ends
- Requiring users to hold a gas token immediately craters conversion. Implement fee sponsorship or stablecoin‑feepay on supported chains; this is a make‑or‑break. (paradigm.xyz)
Avoid: Opaque reserves and slow attestations
- Monthly third‑party attestations (and daily dashboard deltas) are becoming table stakes. Ripple’s RLUSD transparency portal is a good reference for the cadence and detail institutions expect. (ripple.com)
Avoid: “Tron everywhere” shortcuts if your compliance team won’t accept it
- Note Circle’s discontinuation of USDC on Tron in 2024 and the follow‑on by Binance. Be explicit about chain risk and screening posture. (reuters.com)

Reference architecture: a 2026 payment stablecoin stack that passes audit

Below is how we’d structure a programable, compliant, and chain‑agnostic stack in 2026. Swap in your issuer and chain choices as needed.

Licensing and governance (U.S. + EU)

U.S.: Obtain payment stablecoin issuer authorization under the GENIUS Act or partner with a qualified issuer; codify reserve policy (cash/T‑bills), bankruptcy priority for holders, and freeze/burn compliance hooks in line with the statute. Publish a redemption SLA (T+0 where practical). (lw.com)
EU: If you offer to EU residents, comply with MiCA as an EMT issuer (credit institution or authorized EMI), publish a MiCA white paper, and implement EBA/ESMA guidance on reserves, market abuse, and redemption planning. (dechert.com)

Issuance and reserves

Use an issuance platform (e.g., Bridge Open Issuance) or an equivalent with:
- Reserve segregation and daily reconciliation
- Blacklist/whitelist and closed‑loop modes for staged rollouts
- API access to composable liquidity (shared 1:1 swaps among platform coins)
- Integrations with top‑tier reserve managers (cash/UST ladders) (bridge.xyz)

Settlement rails (multi‑chain from day one)

Tempo for merchant/issuer settlement and fee‑sponsored UX; Solana for consumer speed and cost; at least one Ethereum L2 for institutional flows. Use Circle’s CCTP v2 to move USDC between EVM and your chosen L2s in seconds. (paradigm.xyz)

Acceptance and payouts

Turn on Stripe’s stablecoin acceptance (USDC) for fiat merchants and payouts; plan for Visa stablecoin settlement where available, especially in cross‑border corridors where card acceptance already exists. (coindesk.com)

Compliance plumbing (Travel Rule and sanctions)

Implement Travel Rule data exchange for VASP‑to‑VASP transfers (IVMS101 payloads), store originator/beneficiary data for unhosted‑wallet flows, and enforce counterparty due‑diligence checks per FATF guidance. Automate sanctions screening and blocklists at withdrawal. (skadden.com)

Wallet UX and developer tooling

Ship passkey‑based sign‑in, session keys for repeat purchases, fee sponsorship, and human‑readable payment requests (invoice IDs/memos). Offer a hosted wallet SDK for merchants that don’t want to manage keys.

Risk and observability

Real‑time monitoring on chain and off: velocity rules, new‑device checks, geofencing, Travel Rule mismatches, abnormal withdrawal patterns. Wire alerts to a 24/7 compliance pager.

Practical examples (with current rails and numbers)

Example A: Accept stablecoin at checkout with Stripe, settle to USD the same day

For U.S. merchants, Stripe supports USDC acceptance on Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon. Effective fee schedules reported around the relaunch were competitive versus cards, and merchants receive USD in their bank accounts—no crypto treasury required. This is how you pilot crypto acceptance without touching custody risk. (coindesk.com)

Example B: Consumer UX at scale with PYUSD on Solana (or L2)

PayPal’s PYUSD moved beyond Ethereum to Solana in 2024 and added more networks in 2025, improving cost and speed for end‑users in Venmo, PayPal, and third‑party wallets. If you want instant P2P refunds and micro‑payouts, this multi‑chain posture is the pattern to emulate. (paxos.com)

Example C: Cross‑chain treasury routing

If your working capital sits on an Ethereum L2 but your users are on Solana, use USDC + CCTP v2 to move liquidity between supported chains in seconds, then fund consumer payouts in the cheapest venue. This avoids wrapped IOUs and bridges that leak capital to slippage. (circle.com)

Example D: Card presentment where crypto isn’t accepted

Visa’s stablecoin settlement expansion lets you issue cards or settle acquirer positions in stablecoins on multiple chains. For LATAM corridors, that means consumers can spend balances at any Visa merchant while you manage crypto treasury on the backend. (investor.visa.com)

Key technical choices (and why they matter)

Fee abstraction and “stablecoin gas”
- If you can’t pay fees in the payment asset, your conversion funnels will suffer. Tempo’s stablecoin‑fee model makes this “feel like PayPal” to end users. On other chains, implement fee sponsorship and session keys. (paradigm.xyz)
Token standard and controls
- For EVM chains, use ERC‑20 with permit (EIP‑2612) for gasless approvals; implement pausability, blacklist/whitelist, and authorized minter/burner roles with transparent on‑chain governance logs. Your Legal team will ask for proofs of control separation.
Redemption SLA and liquidity locations
- Publish clear T+0/T+1 windows and designate primary liquidity venues (CEXs, on‑chain AMMs, and card settlement) with caps and circuit breakers. This is where many issuers stumble.
Audit and attestations
- Monthly independent attestations with reserve breakdowns (cash, T‑bill ladders, MMFs), plus daily snapshots. Ripple’s RLUSD transparency portal is a good model for cadence and granularity. (ripple.com)
Chain risk policy
- Document where you will and won’t go. Circle’s exit from Tron is a blueprint for risk‑based chain support; align Compliance and Product early to avoid disruptive deprecations. (reuters.com)

Regulatory checklist for 2026 launches

United States (GENIUS Act)

Determine whether you’ll be a federally qualified payment stablecoin issuer (or partner with one).
Lock your reserve policy to permitted assets; set bankruptcy priority disclosures; implement freeze/freeze‑on‑order mechanics.
Expect penalties for unlicensed issuance and strict AML obligations (BSA, Travel Rule, sanctions). The White House fact sheet and law firm memos give the contours to design against. (whitehouse.gov)

European Union (MiCA)

If you offer to EU residents, you’re likely an EMT issuer: EU credit institution or authorized EMI, white paper, redemption at par, robust reserve/treasury controls, and compliance with ESMA/EBA technical standards (e.g., market‑abuse supervision, redemption plans). (dechert.com)

Global AML/Travel Rule

Implement counterparty VASP due diligence and secure, interoperable Travel Rule data exchange. Store originator/beneficiary data for unhosted‑wallet flows and treat them as higher risk until data is verified. (skadden.com)

KPI playbook: measure what payments leaders care about

Authorization rate on first attempt (target ≥97% for domestic, ≥95% cross‑border)
Refund and dispute latency vs. card rails
Cost per transaction vs. card/wire/ACH (all‑in, including compliance ops)
Liquidity fragmentation cost (basis points to rebalance across chains)
Compliance MTTR: time to satisfy a SAR/subpoena request with on‑chain + off‑chain logs
Treasury yield capture (bps) net of risk and liquidity buffers

90‑day rollout plan we’d use today

Days 1–30:
- Regulatory: pick your licensing path (partner or apply), draft reserve policy and redemption SLA.
- Technical: choose primary/secondary chains; stand up testnet issuance with Open Issuance and Stripe acceptance sandbox.
- Compliance: Travel Rule vendor selection; sanctions/PEP screening in CI/CD; redact/retain policies.
Days 31–60:
- Pilot: launch closed‑loop pilot (internal transfers + friendly merchants).
- Integrations: CCTP v2 for treasury routing; Visa stablecoin settlement in one corridor.
- Monitoring: on‑chain analytics alerts; periodic “freeze on order” tabletop exercise.
Days 61–90:
- Attestations: publish first reserve attestation and dashboard; finalize operational playbooks.
- Expand: open whitelist to limited external partners; turn on Stripe stablecoin acceptance to a subset of properties.
- Decide on public testnet docs and SDKs; announce mainnet quarter with milestones.

The broader wave: don’t build in a vacuum

PayPal’s PYUSD went multi‑chain (Ethereum → Solana → L2), pairing consumer distribution with cheaper rails. This is the benchmark for wallet‑native UX at scale. (paxos.com)
Stripe re‑enabled USDC acceptance and acquired Bridge, which now powers white‑label issuance (including KlarnaUSD). That means the merchant and issuer rails are converging. (coindesk.com)
Visa is scaling stablecoin settlement across more coins and chains. The practical takeaway: you can reach merchants without waiting for them to “accept crypto.” (investor.visa.com)

Bottom line for decision‑makers

KlarnaUSD’s most important lesson is architectural: treat payments as the primary use case, not an afterthought. Optimize UX, fees, and compliance for consumer and merchant flows, then let DeFi be additive—not foundational.
Copy Klarna’s stack discipline (payments‑first chain + industrial issuance + merchant distribution), but avoid single‑rail dependency by adding mature networks and cross‑chain liquidity tooling from day one.
Design to GENIUS (U.S.) and MiCA (EU) now; your auditors, banks, and card partners already are. (lw.com)

If you want help mapping this blueprint to your product and compliance footprint, 7Block Labs can deliver a discovery sprint (2–3 weeks) to de‑risk chain selection, licensing path, issuance platform, and go‑live sequencing—before you write a line of production code.

Sources and further reading

KlarnaUSD announcement and details. (investors.klarna.com)
Tempo, a payments‑focused L1 by Stripe and Paradigm. (paradigm.xyz)
Stripe brings back crypto payments; acquires Bridge; Open Issuance. (coindesk.com)
Visa expands stablecoin settlement support. (investor.visa.com)
PYUSD expands to Solana and L2. (paxos.com)
Circle CCTP v2 for near‑instant USDC cross‑chain settlement. (circle.com)
U.S. GENIUS Act; EU MiCA and supervisory guidance. (whitehouse.gov)

Disclaimer: This post is for general information only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Always consult counsel regarding GENIUS Act, MiCA, FATF Travel Rule, and local regulations before launching or integrating stablecoins.