Dunamu, the Seoul-based fintech firm behind South Korea's dominant crypto exchange Upbit, is partnering with the Optimism Foundation to build its GIWA Chain. The new Ethereum layer-2 blockchain will use the OP Stack and operate under Optimism's OP Enterprise framework.
GIWA Chain, announced last September, aims to improve usability and accessibility in web3. It boasts one-second block times and supports Ethereum-based development through EVM compatibility.
The chain is already live on testnet, with nearly 100 million transactions processed as of May 3, and is expected to launch on mainnet soon.
Upbit will control the primary sequencer and all core network decisions under this self-managed structure. Optimism provides institutional-grade support, including system monitoring and a backup sequencer for failover.
Upbit serves over 13 million registered users. The exchange ranked second globally in cumulative spot trading volume between 2020 and 2024, according to CoinGecko data.
Dunamu launched Upbit in 2017, which rapidly rose to become South Korea's top exchange. The company is pursuing a merger with Naver Financial, targeting a close in late 2026 to form a fintech powerhouse valued at around 20 trillion Korean won (around $13.5 billion). Once finalized, GIWA would become the backbone of a massive fintech ecosystem, with plans to integrate Korean won-backed stablecoins for real-world payments.