South Korean company Upbit has partnered with Optimism to develop a custom blockchain for Ethereum Layer 2 using OP Stack.
summary
- Upbit has partnered with Optimism to build GIWA Chain, an Ethereum Layer 2 where the exchange will run its infrastructure within the self-managed OP Enterprise layer.
- The setup allows Upbit to retain control of the serializer, which identifies transaction demand and captures fees, while receiving technical support and failover guarantees, Optimist said.
According to advertisement From the Optimism Foundation The new network, called GIWA Chain, will operate under the self-management category of OP Enterprise, allowing Upbit to operate the chain autonomously while receiving technical support from the foundation.
Placing control of infrastructure as a key requirement, Jing Wang, director of the Optimism Foundation, said enterprise operators would rather own the chains their users interact with rather than rely on third-party infrastructure. The self-management model addresses this preference by placing operational responsibility, including control of the sequencer, directly with the chain operator.
Upbit takes full control of the sequencing operations
Under the structure defined by Optimism, Upbit will run its own sequencer, which determines how transactions are ordered and inserted into blocks. Optimism explained that serializers also generate revenue by collecting transaction fees, making them a compliance and important component of business.
In a blog post, Optimism said that regulated exchanges serving institutional clients cannot give up such control, adding that giving up chaining authority is not considered viable in the case of using Upbit. The organization compared this setup to fully managed deployments, where you run the sequencer and maintain control of the configuration.
Coping with the operational burden remains a challenge for individual operators, according to the same blog, which noted that maintaining uninterrupted service for millions of users requires resilient infrastructure. To address this risk, the companies signed a memorandum of understanding that includes monitoring systems, a failover sequencer, prioritized updates, and technical guidance as part of what Optimism describes as an enterprise-level security framework.
Elephant series It has already been launched on testnet, according to the announcement, and is expected to support Upbit’s expanding blockchain-based financial services. Previous developments involving dynamo provide additional context for this trend.
On April 29, Donamo Signed a tripartite agreement With Hana Financial Group and POSCO International to deploy a blockchain remittance system using GIWA Chain. The companies said the system will move from testing to processing real transactions, with POSCO International applying it to cross-border commercial payments.
The results of the previous proof of concept, revealed by Hana Financial Group and Dunamu, showed that blockchain infrastructure can reduce settlement time and costs compared to the traditional SWIFT system, where messaging and settlement are done separately. Combining these steps allows transfers to be processed in real time, the companies said.
POSCO International President Lee Jin-in said the agreement laid the foundation for long-term partnerships in digital finance, while the companies aim to finalize a business model for real-time remittances later this year based on live transaction data.
The OP Stack ecosystem continues to expand
Optimism has already fueled blockchain deployments of companies like Coinbase, Kraken, and Uniswap, as well as projects like World and Zora.
Many of these networks operate within a Superchain framework, where independent chains share interoperability standards and contribute a portion of Optimism Collective’s serializer revenue while maintaining operational independence.
Although the self-management layer is newly introduced, Optimism explained that many existing OP stack chains, including Base, have historically controlled their own sequencers. Earlier this year, Base, developed by Coinbase, announced plans to do just that Migrates to a unified internal stack, reinforcing the trend towards greater operational independence among major operators.
With more than 13 million registered users and previous rankings that place it among the top global exchanges in terms of spot trading volume, according to CoinGecko, Upbit’s size influenced its decision to build and control its own infrastructure, Optimism noted in its announcement.
