Many people are relying on Klarna’s “Buy now, pay later” program when it comes to everyday shopping. But what if I told you the company is becoming so much more? In late 2025, the Klarna Group announced that they will be playing their hand in the crypto field with the launch of their new KlarnaUSD stablecoin.
This is a significant turning point for the company, and some believe by doing this the company is putting itself under intense market scrutiny. Nonetheless, this brings forth Klarna’s entry into blockchain technology by having on-chain payments, which, in the long run, can be seen as strategic and help the company become profitable globally.
Details on the stablecoin
You may be wondering: how does this all work? Well, the stablecoin, KlarnaUSD, is tied to the U.S. dollar. I know, shocker, right? Well, its main purpose is to serve as a digital currency for payments without the instability that comes with typical cryptocurrencies.
This coin is a collaboration with well-known financial partners, such as Stripe and Paradigm, and the blockchain platform it will be built on is called Tempo. Klarna is using this as a way to change how the backend costs of international transactions are distributed. You may think, what does that have to do with anything? Well, lucky you, I am here to explain this.
KlarnaUSD is causing waves for traditional banks
The company’s main target in all of this is to change the way cross-border payment fees work. In traditional banking, when users send money internationally, there are fees that are included and can rack up over time. Their goal is to disrupt and dismantle the $120 billion in fees that accrue over the year and make a change for users.
Currently, these cross-border transfers rely on older networks such as SWIFT. These networks are decades old and call for change. And that change is happening now. This old system adds unnecessary delays and fees and costs a lot to make happen due to having to travel through multiple banks.
Klarna is bypassing all of this through their modernized stablecoin and utilizing blockchain technology to not only make this process faster but also cheaper for users. Which, to some, doesn’t seem to be the biggest change since the fees are still annually in the billions, but overall is a vital impact to the issue at hand.
Enemies with this change
Since the goal of the stablecoin was to disrupt the outdated system being used, Klarna has now gained enemies. Yes, you heard that right. The traditional payment industry is not happy about this because they were built on charging these fees.
Klarna has now put a spotlight on companies such as Visa since announcing this change. By doing this, they are now showing that they want to challenge the high-fee market that has corrupted international transactions.
This has become a significant threat due to the growth and scale that Klarna brings to the table. Having a new form of payment that seems to be powerful and useful causes waves in the industry that has been outdated for too long.
The existing user base helps Klarna have the upper hand in credibility when starting this change. With their user base growing to over 114 million active users and their global partnerships being 850,000. It also helps that within the first four months of launching, four million people signed up for their Klarna Card, making them a company known for being influential to change within the transaction industry.
What this means for shareholders
While the launch of this new stablecoin is happening, many shareholders of the company have to begin reevaluating their investments. Since the stablecoin is still relatively new, it does not have any immediate weight on the stock industry and signals to the investors that the future of the company is changing in ways they could’ve never imagined.
The investors must look past the short-term changes in the market due to the convincing glimpse they are able to see of the long-term effects. As this plan moves forward, its design is built to defend and profit the global payment systems. This makes it more enticing for the more bullish investors to stick with Klarna as they continue to be a public company.
Parting Words
None of this is to say that you should go crazy and invest all of your life savings into this, but to show that change can happen and is happening. Now and tomorrow. Staying informed and up to date on these changes can help you make informed decisions moving forward. What will be next? We will just have to wait and find out what the future of crypto holds.