South Korea’s Upbit Partners with Optimism to Launch GIWA Chain: A Major Move in Blockchain Infrastructure
Dunamu and Optimism Join Forces to Build Next-Generation Blockchain
In a significant development for the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry, Dunamu, the Seoul-based fintech powerhouse operating South Korea’s largest crypto exchange Upbit, has announced a strategic partnership with the Optimism Foundation. This collaboration centers on building and scaling GIWA Chain, an ambitious Ethereum layer 2 blockchain project that promises to reshape how institutional and retail users interact with web3 technologies. The partnership represents a crucial milestone in the evolution of blockchain infrastructure, particularly as it relates to the growing demand for exchange-operated chains that offer enhanced control, performance, and compliance capabilities.
GIWA Chain, which was first introduced to the public in September of last year, is designed with a clear mission: making blockchain technology more accessible and user-friendly for everyday applications. By leveraging the OP Stack—Optimism’s modular and open-source blockchain development framework—GIWA Chain will integrate into Optimism’s newly established OP Enterprise framework. This technical foundation allows GIWA Chain to deliver impressive performance metrics, including lightning-fast one-second block times that dramatically improve transaction speed compared to traditional blockchain networks. The chain maintains full compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which means developers can seamlessly port their existing Ethereum-based applications to GIWA Chain without significant modifications. Furthermore, the network benefits from continuous technological improvements and security updates through the vibrant open-source ecosystem maintained by the Optimism Foundation, ensuring that GIWA Chain remains at the cutting edge of blockchain innovation.
Impressive Testnet Performance and Imminent Mainnet Launch
The GIWA Chain has already demonstrated its technical capabilities and market readiness through its testnet phase, which has been operating successfully and processing an astonishing volume of transactions. As of May 3rd, the testnet has handled nearly 100 million transactions, providing valuable data about the network’s performance, stability, and scalability under various conditions. This extensive testing phase has allowed Dunamu’s technical teams to identify and resolve potential issues, optimize network parameters, and ensure that the infrastructure can handle the massive transaction volumes expected once the mainnet launches. Industry observers and potential users are now eagerly anticipating the mainnet launch, which is expected to occur in the near future, marking GIWA Chain’s transition from experimental technology to a fully operational blockchain network capable of supporting real-world applications and substantial economic activity.
A Groundbreaking Self-Managed Blockchain Model
The partnership between Dunamu and the Optimism Foundation is formalized through a non-binding memorandum of understanding that establishes GIWA Chain as the pioneering deployment on the Self-Managed tier of OP Enterprise. This arrangement represents a novel approach to blockchain infrastructure that addresses a critical need in the industry: giving major operators complete control over their blockchain environment while still benefiting from institutional-grade support and proven technology. Under this Self-Managed structure, Upbit retains full control over the primary sequencer—the critical component that orders and processes transactions—as well as all core network decisions, including governance policies, upgrade schedules, and operational parameters. Meanwhile, the Optimism Foundation provides comprehensive institutional support services, including continuous system monitoring to detect and prevent potential issues, and a backup sequencer that can seamlessly take over operations in case of primary system failure, ensuring uninterrupted service for users.
Minseok Jung, Chief Operating Officer at Dunamu, emphasized the strategic importance of this approach, explaining that operating their own GIWA Chain aligns with Upbit’s broader business objectives. “Our goal is to provide institutional and retail users with a level of performance and compliance consistent with our existing platform,” Jung stated, highlighting how the Optimism Foundation’s Self-Managed tier enables Dunamu to maintain complete operational control while building on infrastructure that has already proven its reliability and scalability. This model is particularly important for a company like Upbit, which serves over 13 million registered users and ranked as the second-largest exchange globally by cumulative spot trading volume between 2020 and 2024, according to data from CoinGecko. For an operation of this scale, having direct control over the underlying blockchain infrastructure isn’t just a preference—it’s a necessity for maintaining the security standards, compliance requirements, and performance guarantees that users expect.
Industry Shift Toward Operator-Owned Infrastructure
Jing Wang, director at the Optimism Foundation, provided valuable context about broader industry trends driving this partnership. “What we hear consistently from the largest exchanges and institutional operators is that they want to own the chain their users transact on, not rent it,” Wang explained, articulating a fundamental shift occurring throughout the cryptocurrency industry. Major market participants are increasingly recognizing that relying on third-party blockchain infrastructure creates dependencies that can limit flexibility, increase costs, and potentially compromise competitive advantages. By owning their blockchain infrastructure, exchanges and institutional operators gain the ability to customize their networks to meet specific business requirements, implement proprietary features, and ensure that their technology roadmap aligns perfectly with their business strategy.
Wang further noted that Upbit’s decision to build on OP Enterprise Self-Managed sends a powerful signal about the direction of the industry and where institutional trust is being placed. “It also says something about where the trust is going: an operator at Upbit’s scale isn’t going to build on infrastructure that hasn’t already proven it can carry the weight,” he observed. This statement underscores an important reality in blockchain technology—despite the industry’s innovative spirit and appetite for experimentation, when billions of dollars in user assets are at stake, even the most forward-thinking companies prioritize battle-tested infrastructure with proven reliability. Optimism’s technology stack has been operating successfully in production environments, processing substantial transaction volumes and securing significant value, which makes it an attractive foundation for mission-critical applications like GIWA Chain.
The Broader Vision: A Fintech Powerhouse in the Making
The GIWA Chain initiative should be understood within the context of Dunamu’s ambitious broader strategy to position itself at the forefront of the converging fintech and blockchain ecosystems. Dunamu launched Upbit in 2017, and the exchange experienced meteoric growth, rapidly ascending to become South Korea’s dominant cryptocurrency trading platform. Building on this success, the company is now pursuing a transformative merger with Naver Financial, a deal that was originally targeted to close in 2026 and would create a fintech powerhouse with an estimated valuation of approximately 20 trillion Korean won, equivalent to roughly $13.5 billion. However, the complex regulatory environment surrounding such large-scale corporate combinations has introduced delays, pushing the expected shareholder votes and final closing to late 2026.
Once this merger is finalized, GIWA Chain is positioned to serve as the technological backbone of an enormous fintech ecosystem that would combine Upbit’s cryptocurrency expertise with Naver Financial’s extensive consumer financial services infrastructure. The strategic plans already under development include integrating Korean won-backed stablecoins—digital currencies pegged to South Korea’s national currency—directly into GIWA Chain for real-world payment applications. This integration would represent a significant step toward bridging the gap between traditional finance and blockchain technology, enabling users to seamlessly move value between conventional banking services and blockchain-based applications. Such capabilities could unlock entirely new use cases, from instant cross-border remittances to blockchain-based loyalty programs, programmable payment systems, and decentralized finance applications tailored to Korean market preferences and regulatory requirements. The combination of Upbit’s massive user base, Naver Financial’s financial services expertise, and GIWA Chain’s high-performance blockchain infrastructure creates a powerful platform that could fundamentally reshape how millions of Koreans interact with both financial services and blockchain technology, potentially serving as a model for how traditional finance and cryptocurrency can be integrated in other markets around the world.
