Optimism in Korea: the partners, the proof, and where to find us at KBW
Why Korea
South Korea is already one of the world’s most active markets for digital finance. An estimated 16 million people, roughly one-third of the population, actively trade digital assets. Now the country’s financial institutions are preparing for the next phase: bringing more of that activity into regulated financial products and infrastructure.
The demand is already there, while regulators are creating clearer frameworks for how digital assets can operate within the financial system. Exchanges, fintech platforms, and securities firms are responding accordingly.
Previous announcements and partners
Optimism expanded its presence in Korea this year. Three institutions, three different products, all built on the OP Stack.
Dunamu operates Upbit, Korea’s largest digital asset exchange. It built Giwa, its own chain on the OP Stack, as the first Self-Managed OP Enterprise deployment. The testnet has processed roughly 100 million transactions to date. Giwa provides an early technical reference for what large-scale, self-operated infrastructure can look like in the Korean market.
Toss approaches the same infrastructure from a different direction. More than 30 million people use the platform across banking, payments, investing, credit, and taxes. In July 2026, Optimism and Toss signed an MOU to explore a won-backed stablecoin on the OP Stack. The three-month proof of concept is testing whether onchain settlement can meet the compliance, privacy, and operational requirements of the Korean financial market. It uses OP Enterprise for settlement infrastructure, KYC/AML controls designed around Korean requirements, and Sunnyside Labs’ Privacy Boost for transaction privacy on a public network.
“This proof of concept is about demonstrating that the OP Stack can meet the compliance, privacy, and performance standards that regulated financial institutions require, and we're excited to prove that out alongside some of the most credible partners in the market.”
DB Securities, a traditional securities and underwriting firm, is taking a third approach. Over a two-year phased build, it plans to bring assets including Jeju smart-farming and livestock projects, along with Korean intellectual property, into tokenized securities and real-world asset markets on the OP Stack. The objective is to create digital markets around assets that have historically been difficult to trade.
Where to find us at KBW
We’ll be in Seoul for Korea Blockchain Week.
Ethereum Korea One
Kyle Jenke, Chief Operating Officer at OP Labs, will give a keynote on September 28 on running regulated finance on the OP Stack. Our engineer, Jacob Kim, will speak on a panel the next day.
EastPoint Seoul
Jing Wang, our Chief Executive Officer, will be on a panel.
Korea Blockchain Week
Both Jing Wang and Kyle Jenke will be presenters at Korea Blockchain Week. If you are interested in seeing us in person, you can find our booth in the Upbit Zone.
Let’s meet in Seoul
If you’re at KBW and working on settlement, payments, stablecoins, or tokenized assets, we’re holding time to meet with institutional teams throughout the week and talk through where the OP Stack could fit.
Authored by
Optimism