PathUSD

Built as the plumbing of a payments chain, PathUSD is the native quote and gas token of Tempo, the stablecoin network incubated by Stripe and Paradigm. When a user pays in one stablecoin and the recipient prefers another, Tempo routes the value through pathUSD automatically, and the token also covers gas when no other stablecoin is on hand. Reserves are managed by Bridge, the stablecoin infrastructure firm Stripe acquired, which operates as a US money transmitter; the dollar backing sits with that regulated entity rather than in an onchain vault. Redemption at par is an institutional affair, handled through Bridge and approved partners rather than a retail withdrawal button, so ordinary holders acquire and exit on the market. Its role is less to be held as savings than to be the connective dollar that lets enterprise payments settle instantly across Tempo.