Permissioned at launch
Tempo launched with a permissioned validator set: operators are approved rather than open to anyone. The project has stated a roadmap toward permissionless validation, but at launch the set is curated.
This is a common pattern for payment networks that need known, accountable operators from day one. It trades some openness for operational reliability and clear lines of responsibility.
Who validates
Announced corporate validators include Stripe, Visa, Zodia Custody, and MoneyGram — a mix of payment networks, custodians, and money-transfer firms. Having established financial institutions run the set is part of how Tempo positions itself as a payments rail rather than a speculative chain.
Because consensus is Simplex BFT, the set's behaviour is governed by the 2f+1 quorum rule: the chain progresses only with a supermajority, and halts rather than finalising conflicting blocks if more than one-third are unavailable.
Why this matters for users
A permissioned set means the liveness and safety of the chain depend on a known group of operators. The upside is accountability and predictable operation; the trade-off, relative to a fully permissionless chain, is that participation in block production is gated.
For a neutral reading, treat decentralization as a dimension to watch over time as Tempo executes its stated path toward permissionless validation, rather than a settled property today.