Weekly Recap: Stripe is Building a Layer 1 for Payments

Happy weekend Defiers!

Crypto markets were relatively unchanged this week as macro concerns continue to weigh on investor sentiment. Looking ahead, investors expect the Fed to cut rates on Sept. 17 in the wake of a disappointing August jobs report, which could boost risk assets.

Stripe and Paradigm unveiled Tempo, a new payments-focused Layer 1 blockchain, sparking a debate in the crypto community.

The Trumps’ DeFi project, World Liberty Financial, launched its native token this week. WLFI trades at a $20 billion valuation despite cratering nearly 40% since launch day.

Meanwhile, DeFi TVL has surged above $160 billion for the first time since May 2022, with Ethereum and Solana accounting for the bulk of the gains.

Finally, a new onchain meta may be emerging as traders pile into CARDS, the token of Collector Crypt, which tokenizes physical Pokémon cards.

Enjoy!

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Stripe and Paradigm Unveil Permissionless Layer 1 Blockchain, Tempo

Tempo is an Ethereum-compatible blockchain designed for high-volume payment use cases with a built-in stablecoin AMM, and touts high throughput, low latency, and opt-in private transactions.

According to Tempo, the chain will feature 100,000+ transactions per second (TPS) and sub-second finality.

Crypto Markets Trade Sideways as August Jobs Report Disappoints

Most cryptocurrencies lost ground over the past week as investors digested fresh U.S. employment data showing slower job growth and a rising unemployment rate.

Investors are now looking ahead to the Fed meeting later this month, where the central bank is widely predicted to lower interest rates.

Trump-Linked WLFI Token Tanks 18% in First 24 Hours of Trading

The native token of World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the DeFi project directly connected to the Trump family, has nosedived nearly 40% in its first week of trading.

Meanwhile, the project is embroiled in controversy after blacklisting a wallet belonging to Tron founder Justin Sun, one of the largest investors in WLFI.

DeFi TVL Surges 41% in Q3 to Three-Year High

The total value locked in DeFi has surged 41% so far in the third quarter of 2025, surpassing $160 billion for the first time since May 2022.

Ethereum’s TVL jumped 50% to $96.5 billion from $54 billion in July, while Solana’s rose about 30% to $13 billion over the same period.

However, despite DeFi activity being concentrated on Ethereum and Solana, Tron is leading all blockchains by 30-day fees, fueled by stablecoin transactions.

CARDS Token Soars as Traders Flock to Tokenized Pokémon Card Platform

Collector Crypt tokenizes the physical Pokémon card market, offering users an open market for card trading, a gacha vending machine, and a buyback mechanism that provides instant liquidity for their cards at a market discount.

Its CARDS token soared 1,000% this week.

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