Optimism Meets Korea's Financial Leaders and Ethereum Foundation in Seoul

OP Labs CEO discussed on the NYSE floor why centralized exchanges are adopting OP Enterprise to bring their operations onchain. **Key developments:** - Exchanges are moving beyond being just trading venues to becoming core infrastructure for institutional digital asset movement - OP Enterprise offers exchanges a managed path to deploy their own chains without handling full infrastructure operations - A top-3 US exchange retained $75M in sequencer revenue in H2 2025 by running its own OP Stack chain **Technical improvements:** - Partnership with Base to bring native account abstraction to OP Stack - Focus on making transactions faster, cheaper, safer, and simpler - Integrated ecosystem includes RPCs, oracles, bridges, indexers, wallets, compliance, and custody solutions **Business model:** - Organizations own 100% of sequencer revenue instead of paying rent to third parties - Custom fee structures and block space control - Teams can focus on product development rather than infrastructure management The platform enables enterprises to launch production blockchains with pre-integrated infrastructure components, reducing deployment time.

**Privacy Boost is now deployed on OP Mainnet and Soneium**, marking a significant step in bringing confidential transactions to the OP Stack. The deployment sets the stage for **Toss to run a won-linked stablecoin trial** reaching approximately 30 million users in South Korea. Toss, which handles financial transactions for two-thirds of South Korea, partnered with Optimism to explore blockchain-based digital finance infrastructure. **Key features of Privacy Boost:** - Encrypts transfers and contract logic while maintaining transaction auditability for compliance - Supports pre-confirmations, enabling private transfers within one second - Provides institutions with privacy while allowing regulators to maintain oversight The three-month proof of concept will test whether the Won can settle onchain while meeting Korea's strict compliance, privacy, and control requirements. This represents a practical test case for **tokenized finance with built-in confidentiality** from the start. More details: [Cointelegraph coverage](https://cointelegraph.com/news/south-korea-toss-partners-optimism-won-stablecoins) | [Optimism blog](https://optimism.io/blog/two-thirds-of-south-korea-runs-its-money-through-toss-now-toss-is-exploring-putting-the-won)

**Optimism partners with Toss to explore blockchain-based finance in South Korea** Toss, the financial super-app used by over 30 million South Koreans (two-thirds of the population), has signed an MOU with Optimism to test putting the Korean Won onchain. **Key details:** - Three-month proof of concept launching with Optimism, PrivacyBoost, and Toss - Testing a Won-backed stablecoin built on the OP Stack - Focus on meeting Korea's compliance, privacy, and control requirements - Toss handles banking, payments, investing, credit, and taxes for users The pilot will determine whether money can settle onchain while maintaining regulatory standards. If successful, this could establish the OP Stack as infrastructure for compliant digital finance at national scale. [Read the full announcement](https://optimism.io/blog/two-thirds-of-south-korea-runs-its-money-through-toss-now-toss-is-exploring-putting-the-won) | [Cointelegraph coverage](https://cointelegraph.com/news/south-korea-toss-partners-optimism-won-stablecoins)

Centralized exchanges (CEXs) have quietly become significant distributors of onchain activity, according to a new analysis from Optimism. The shift represents a notable evolution in the crypto ecosystem. While decentralized exchanges (DEXs) were designed to eliminate intermediaries, CEXs have adapted by facilitating onchain transactions at scale. **Key developments:** - CEXs now process substantial volumes of onchain transfers and settlements - Traditional exchanges are bridging users to Layer 2 networks and DeFi protocols - The trend challenges assumptions about the CEX vs DEX divide This development suggests the future may involve coexistence rather than competition between centralized and decentralized platforms. CEXs bring regulatory compliance and user familiarity, while enabling access to onchain infrastructure. Read the full analysis: [Optimism Blog](https://www.optimism.io/blog/how-centralized-exchanges-quietly-became-crypto-s-biggest-onchain-distributors)