Bridge, a stablecoin infrastructure firm acquired by Stripe, has applied for a national bank trust charter with the OCC, expanding the roster of cryptocurrency firms seeking charters under the newly enacted Genius Act. While the charter would enable custody and management of stablecoin reserves, it would not permit lending or taking insured deposits. The application reflects a significant shift towards federal recognition of stablecoin infrastructure, although there is opposition from traditional banking groups.

Tempo, a payments-focused blockchain incubated by Stripe, has successfully raised $500 million in a Series A funding round, achieving a valuation of $5 billion. The funding, led by Thrive Capital and Greenoaks, underscores Stripe's increasing involvement in the cryptocurrency sector as Tempo aims to optimize high-throughput payments on an Ethereum-compatible Layer 1 network.