Upbit’s GIWA, Toss, KB Securities and DB Securities are adopting Optimism technology. GIWA has processed 100 million testnet transactions, not commercial transfers. South Korea’s tokenized se
South Korea’s financial sector is emerging as an important market for Optimism’s blockchain infrastructure, with major institutions exploring applications ranging from digital payments to tokenized investment products.
In an October 16 post in X, Optimism highlighted initiatives involving Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, financial super-app Toss, and securities firms KB Securities and DB Securities.
Korea is building onchain, and they’re choosing Optimism.
@GIWA_by_Upbit, built by Korea’s largest exchange, has 100M testnet transactions and counting.
@toss__official, Korea’s super app used by 30M+, is exploring a won-backed stablecoin.
DB Securities, a securities and underwriting firm, is tokenizing smart-farming and livestock assets as RWAs.
KB Securities, one of Korea’s leading securities firms, signed an MOU to bring tokenized funds to Korean institutional investors.
Exchange. Super app. Securities Firms. All on one stack.
— Optimism (@Optimism) October 16, 2026
Their participation extends Optimism’s reach beyond cryptocurrency trading. However, the four projects have different technical architectures, commercial objectives and regulatory requirements.
The most consequential development may be South Korea’s approaching regulatory transition. The country is preparing to recognize distributed-ledger-based securities records under legislation scheduled to take effect in February 2027.
For Optimism, that creates opportunities to supply blockchain infrastructure to established financial institutions. It does not automatically translate into additional activity on OP Mainnet or increased demand for the OP token.
Dunamu’s GIWA blockchain is among the most technically developed initiatives highlighted by Optimism.
Built using Self Managed OP Enterprise, GIWA allows the operator of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange to maintain a dedicated Ethereum-compatible network based on the OP Stack.
According to Optimism’s technical overview, GIWA has processed approximately 100 million testnet transactions.
The figure indicates extensive network testing, but it is not equivalent to 100 million commercial payments or transfers involving real assets.
GIWA’s developer documentation identifies its current environment as GIWA Sepolia, connected to Ethereum’s Sepolia testnet.
Testnet transactions can originate from automated scripts, repeated contract interactions and developer experiments. Without corresponding data on unique users, transaction types and transferred economic value, the reported total cannot establish commercial adoption.
GIWA’s architecture is nevertheless important. Rather than relying exclusively on a shared public network, Dunamu can configure its own blockchain environment while retaining compatibility with Ethereum development tools.
That approach gives the exchange operator greater operational control, although the eventual production network will still need to demonstrate reliable settlement, security and integration with existing financial services.
Toss is approaching Optimism from a different direction.
The financial super-app, operated by Viva Republica, serves more than 30 million users across banking, payments, investments and other financial services.
In July, Toss signed a memorandum of understanding with Optimism and Sunnyside Labs to explore blockchain infrastructure for potential Korean won-backed stablecoin applications.
The collaboration includes institutional transaction controls, anti-money-laundering requirements and privacy technology.
A subsequent experiment with the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation examined how blockchain infrastructure could support local-currency voucher payments.
The test combined spending and settlement within a single blockchain transaction, potentially reducing the reconciliation steps required when payment authorization and financial settlement occur separately.
However, technical settlement on a blockchain does not automatically settle obligations between banks. The system must still connect to regulated financial accounts and establish which institution is responsible for the underlying funds.
The experiment was conducted outside KOMSCO’s production environment. Toss has not announced the commercial launch of a won-backed stablecoin through the partnership.
The two securities firms are pursuing investment products rather than consumer payments.
KB Securities signed a September agreement with Securitize and the Optimism Foundation to develop tokenized funds for institutional investors.
The initial plans include a money market fund and an investment strategy managed by KB Asset Management. The products are intended to use OP Mainnet, with Securitize providing tokenization and related administrative infrastructure.
DB Securities has proposed a different model through its agreement with Optimism to develop tokenized real-world assets associated with Jeju.
Potential assets include smart-farming operations, livestock and intellectual property. The initiative follows a two-year development plan.
These projects involve different legal and financial challenges.
A tokenized money market fund can be structured around an existing investment product with established valuation and custody arrangements. Agricultural and livestock investments may require more extensive procedures for verifying assets, valuing future income and enforcing investor rights.
For example, a token representing an interest in livestock does not independently establish ownership of the animals or guarantee revenue from their sale. Those rights must be supported by legally enforceable agreements and reliable asset records.
The blockchain can automate certain transfers and recordkeeping functions, but it cannot replace the legal structure supporting the investment.
South Korea’s regulatory timetable provides a clearer indication of when tokenized securities could enter the country’s mainstream financial infrastructure.
The Financial Services Commission’s September roadmap outlines a phased implementation of legislation recognizing securities recorded using distributed-ledger technology.
The relevant amendments are scheduled to take effect on February 4, 2027.
Under the FSC’s proposed implementing rules, securities ledgers must be shared with the Korea Securities Depository and at least two account-management entities.
The requirements are particularly relevant for institutions building blockchain-based securities systems.
A distributed ledger may provide a synchronized record of transactions, but Korean securities regulation also requires legally recognized ownership records and oversight by authorized institutions.
For developers, compliance therefore involves more than creating transferable tokens.
Systems must support appropriate access controls, transaction records, reconciliation and integration with regulated securities infrastructure.
The proposed requirements also help explain why institutional projects may favor configurable blockchain deployments over unrestricted public-network applications.
KB Securities’ planned funds and DB Securities’ asset-tokenization initiatives will need to satisfy the applicable legal requirements before their products can reach regulated investors.
Optimism’s institutional expansion has not prevented a pullback in its native token.
According to the October 18 TradingView daily chart for OP/USD on Coinbase, OP traded at approximately $0.1227, down 4.87% during the session.
Optimism trades near $0.123 as RSI falls below 50 and MACD signals bearish momentum.
The token has retreated from its October highs near $0.16, returning toward the $0.12 area after failing to sustain its recent recovery.
Technical indicators point to weakening momentum:
Although the MACD histogram has turned negative, both the MACD and signal lines remain above zero. This suggests that short-term momentum has weakened without conclusively establishing a longer-term bearish trend.
OP/USD daily chart showing the October price retreat, RSI below 50 and a bearish MACD crossover. Source: TradingView, October 18, 2026.Why Korean Adoption Does Not Guarantee OP Token Demand
The commercial opportunity for Optimism’s infrastructure business should be separated from the potential financial impact on OP holders.
The OP Stack provides open-source technology that organizations can use to build Ethereum-compatible networks.
Institutions deploying dedicated chains may configure their own transaction-fee arrangements and retain associated revenue. Using OP Stack software does not automatically require users to purchase OP tokens.
The Korean projects illustrate two different approaches. GIWA uses a self-managed deployment, while KB Securities has outlined plans involving OP Mainnet.
The latter could contribute more directly to activity on Optimism’s existing network if the proposed products launch and attract investors. However, additional network usage does not guarantee proportional demand for the governance token.
The February 2027 regulatory milestone will provide an important test of whether institutional interest develops into regulated financial products. For OP investors, the relevant evidence will include production deployments, transaction activity, commercial agreements and any mechanisms connecting that activity to token economics.
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