Upbit Takes Full Control of Its Own Ethereum Layer 2 With GIWA Chain

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Upbit takes control of its own <a href="https://minority-mindset.com/eth-usd/">Ethereum</a> chain with Optimism

Upbit, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, is working with Optimism to build a new Ethereum Layer 2 network powered by OP Stack.

Summary

  • Upbit has partnered with Optimism to build GIWA Chain, an Ethereum Layer 2 where the exchange will run its own infrastructure under the Self Managed OP Enterprise tier.
  • Optimism said the setup allows Upbit to retain sequencer control, which determines transaction ordering and captures fees, while receiving technical support and failover safeguards.

The Optimism Foundation has announced a new network, GIWA Chain, which will be powered by their OP Enterprise Self-Managed tier. This allows Upbit to operate the network on its own, with technical assistance from the foundation.

Jing Wang, director at the Optimism Foundation, explained that institutions prefer to directly control the underlying technology powering their services, rather than depend on external providers. The Self-Managed model caters to this preference by giving chain operators full control over operations, including how transactions are processed.

Upbit takes full control of sequencer operations

Following the system developed by Optimism, Upbit will manage its own sequencer – the system responsible for organizing and confirming transactions. The Optimism Foundation notes that sequencers also earn money from these transaction fees, making them vital for both regulatory compliance and Upbit’s business operations.

I’ve been following the discussion around sequencer control with Optimism, and they’ve clarified that regulated exchanges with institutional clients, like Upbit, aren’t able to give up that level of control. Essentially, handing over sequencer authority wasn’t a feasible option for them. This differs from what we do with fully managed deployments, where our foundation directly operates the sequencer and maintains full configuration control.

Running things smoothly is still difficult for individual operators, the blog post explained. Keeping services running for millions of users demands a reliable infrastructure. To improve things, the companies agreed to a plan that includes tools to monitor performance, automatically switch to backup systems if needed, provide quick updates, and offer expert support – all part of what Optimism calls a highly secure system.

GIWA Chain is now available on testnet, and it’s designed to help Upbit grow its financial services using blockchain technology. This development builds on previous work by Dunamu, suggesting the future direction of the platform.

On April 29th, Dunamu, Hana Financial Group, and POSCO International agreed to launch a blockchain-based money transfer system using GIWA Chain. They announced the system is now moving beyond testing and will be used for actual transactions, starting with POSCO International using it to pay for international trade.

A recent test conducted by Hana Financial Group and Dunamu demonstrated that blockchain technology could speed up and lower the costs of international money transfers. Currently, systems like SWIFT handle messaging and settlement as separate steps. This test showed that by combining these steps, money can be sent almost instantly.

As a crypto investor, I’m really encouraged by this new agreement between POSCO International and their partner. It seems like they’re building a solid base for future collaboration in the digital finance space. They’re aiming to have a system for instant, real-time money transfers up and running by the end of the year, and they’re using actual transaction data to make it happen. This could be a big step forward for international payments.

OP Stack ecosystem continues to expand

Optimism has helped companies like Coinbase, Kraken, and Uniswap, and projects like World and Zora, successfully launch on blockchain technology.

Many of these networks function using the Superchain model, allowing them to work together seamlessly while remaining independently operated. They all adhere to common standards and contribute some of their transaction fees to the Optimism Collective.

Even though the Self-Managed tier is new, Optimism points out that some existing OP Stack chains, like Base, have always managed their own transaction ordering. Earlier this year, Base, created by Coinbase, announced it would switch to its own complete system, showing a growing desire for more control among major network operators.

Upbit, a major cryptocurrency exchange with over 13 million users and consistently high trading volumes (ranking among the top globally according to CoinGecko), has decided to create and manage its own technical infrastructure. This decision, as highlighted by Optimism, is a result of Upbit’s large size and influence.

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2026-05-05 09:46