DoorDash Adds Stablecoins

DoorDash is moving part of its payout system onto stablecoins, starting with merchant flows on Tempo, a payments blockchain backed by Stripe and Paradigm. (tempo.xyz) A stablecoin is a crypto token designed to track a real currency, usually the U.S. dollar, so companies can move digital dollars without using the slower bank networks that shut on nights and weekends. Tempo said DoorDash is bringing stablecoin payment flows into production on its network after working with the company as a design partner. (tempo.xyz) DoorDash operates marketplaces in more than 40 countries, and each one comes with different banking rails, foreign-exchange costs, and settlement delays. In its latest annual filing, the company said those marketplaces generate the vast majority of its revenue. (sec.gov) DoorDash said in February that it generated nearly $75 billion in sales for local merchants and more than $20 billion in earnings for Dashers in 2025. Tempo said the first stablecoin use case is faster, cheaper settlement for merchants in DoorDash’s global marketplace. (businesswire.com) (tempo.xyz) Tempo formally launched in March after disclosing a $500 million funding round in October that valued the company at $5 billion, according to Fortune. On April 21, it also launched a Stablecoin Advisory unit to help companies handle payments, compliance, custody, and integration work. (finance.yahoo.com) That advisory group comes with named partners already building on the network. Tempo said Stripe, Coastal Community Bank, and ARQ are using its infrastructure for stablecoin payment operations, and Fortune reported that Visa, Felix, Fifth Third Bank, and Howard Hughes Holdings are also moving payment flows onto Tempo. (tempo.xyz) (finance.yahoo.com) Stripe has been building toward this for more than a year. It closed its $1.1 billion acquisition of Bridge in February 2025, then said at Sessions 2025 that businesses on Stripe would be able to hold stablecoin balances and send them almost anywhere in the world. (cnbc.com) (stripe.com) The pitch to companies is not crypto trading but cash movement: pay workers faster, settle cross-border transactions outside banking hours, and cut the number of intermediaries between sender and recipient. Tempo said DoorDash, Shopify, and Coastal came to it with the same problem set — payouts that took days and cost too much across dozens of markets. (tempo.xyz) Stablecoins still carry the risks that come with digital-asset infrastructure. A U.S. Treasury report said they can raise concerns around market integrity, investor protection, and connections to trading platforms, even as payment companies push them deeper into mainstream finance. (home.treasury.gov) DoorDash has not given a public launch date for broader stablecoin payouts, and Tempo has framed the rollout as a production effort that starts where settlement speed matters most. For now, the shift is less about paying for takeout with crypto than about rebuilding the plumbing behind where DoorDash’s money goes next. (tempo.xyz) (finance.yahoo.com)