US fintech giant Stripe is promoting its new Tempo blockchain as a revolution in global payments. However, Christian Catalini, one of the designers of Meta's failed stablecoin project, Libra, has stated that the Tempo blockchain is "doomed to failure." He believes the problem with chains like Tempo lies not in their code but in their incentive mechanisms. Once they establish a monopoly in a market, the temptation to distort competition becomes irresistible. If Stripe and other fintech companies succeed in building walled garden blockchains, the result will not be financial innovation, but a reshuffling of corporate monopolies. Open, permissionless networks are the only path forward; any other approach is doomed to failure. (DL News)