Optimism

**Optimism is making moves in Korea's financial sector.** Kyle Jenke from the Optimism team appeared on Hankyung TV to discuss OP Enterprise and its role in helping Korean financial institutions integrate blockchain technology. **Key developments:** - The Optimism team spent the week in Korea exploring onchain finance opportunities for the country's financial system - Discussion centered on a proof-of-concept for a Korean won stablecoin built on the OP Stack - Partnership with Toss, a major Korean fintech company, on the stablecoin initiative OP Enterprise appears designed to lower technical barriers for traditional financial institutions looking to adopt blockchain infrastructure.

**Toss, South Korea's dominant payment platform serving two-thirds of the country's population, is exploring putting the won onchain.** The financial technology company is investigating blockchain integration for the Korean currency. This move could represent a significant step toward mainstream adoption of onchain finance in one of Asia's most technologically advanced markets. Toss's exploration comes as the company continues to dominate South Korea's digital payment landscape. The platform's massive user base positions it as a potential bridge between traditional finance and blockchain technology. Details about the implementation timeline and technical approach are outlined in [Optimism's blog post](http://optimism.io/blog/two-thirds-of-south-korea-runs-its-money-through-toss-now-toss-is-exploring-putting-the-won-onchain).

**South Korea's largest fintech app Toss is exploring an onchain Won stablecoin in partnership with Optimism.** Toss serves over 30 million users—two-thirds of South Korea's population—who manage banking, payments, investing, credit, and taxes through the platform. **Key implications:** - Korea has 16 million active crypto traders, creating significant existing demand - A Toss-sized stablecoin would become one of the largest regulated onchain money experiments globally - The stablecoin would operate within an app most Koreans already use daily The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Toss and Optimism marks a potential shift toward mainstream blockchain adoption in one of crypto's most active markets.

A proof-of-concept test is underway for a Korean Won-backed stablecoin that combines regulatory compliance with blockchain privacy. **Key Components Being Tested:** - OP Enterprise for settlement control - KYC and AML systems built to Korean regulatory standards - Sunnyside Labs' @PrivacyBoost for private transactions on public networks The test, involving Optimism, @PrivacyBoost, and @toss__official, runs over three months to determine if digital money can settle onchain while meeting Korea's requirements for compliance, privacy, and institutional control.

Optimism explores how blockchain adoption will reach a billion users not through hype, but through invisible integration into everyday applications. **Key insights:** - Mass adoption won't announce itself - users will interact with blockchain technology without realizing it - The focus shifts from crypto-native applications to embedding blockchain infrastructure into mainstream services - Success means the technology becomes invisible, working seamlessly in the background - Optimism positions itself as the scaling solution enabling this quiet revolution Read the full analysis: [The Billion User Moment](https://optimism.io/blog/the-billion-user-moment-nobody-will-see-coming)

The article explores why creative economies require a solid financial foundation before they can truly flourish. It examines the current moment as a critical period where this infrastructure is finally being built. **Key Points:** - Creative economies don't spontaneously emerge - they need underlying financial systems - The necessary infrastructure is being constructed now - This foundation enables broader participation and growth The piece draws parallels to how financial evolution allows anyone to build and launch projects, suggesting we're at an inflection point for creative economic activity.

**Career Transition at Optimism** A builder has transitioned from developing community culture to constructing the underlying infrastructure at Optimism, taking on the role as the protocol's first Marketing Engineer. - The move represents a shift from cultural development to technical infrastructure building - This marks a new position within Optimism's organizational structure - The role bridges marketing and engineering disciplines The appointment signals Optimism's focus on strengthening both its technical foundation and market presence as the Layer 2 scaling solution continues to evolve.

Optimism held a closed-door meeting with the Ethereum Foundation and Korea's financial and policy leaders in Seoul this week. The session, hosted by Ethereum Korea, convened representatives from: - Securities firms - Card companies - Policy finance institutions - Korea's Financial Investment Association The meeting precedes September's flagship Ethereum conference and follows Optimism's recent partnerships in Korea, including: - A won-backed stablecoin proof of concept with Toss (serving 30M+ users) - DB Securities building STO and RWA infrastructure for Jeju on OP Stack - Three major Korean financial institutions adopting OP Stack infrastructure The discussions centered on onchain finance applications for Korea's financial system, building on momentum from recent institutional adoption of the OP Stack for compliant blockchain infrastructure.

**OP Labs CEO explains why centralized exchanges are adopting OP Enterprise to move their business onchain.** Centralized exchanges aren't just trading venues—they're the infrastructure institutions use to move digital assets. Speaking from the NYSE floor, OP Labs CEO outlined why exchanges are choosing OP Enterprise. **Key economics:** - A top-3 US exchange kept $75M in sequencer revenue in H2 2025 by running its own OP Stack chain - Rent space on someone else's chain and that revenue goes to them - Own your chain and 100% of revenue stays yours, plus full customization over fees and block space **What OP Enterprise offers:** - Managed infrastructure so teams can focus on building, not operations - Integrated ecosystem: RPCs, oracles, bridges, indexers, wallets, compliance, custody, stablecoins - Native account abstraction partnership with Base for faster, cheaper, safer transactions The pitch is simple: your product, your chain, your economics. Exchanges can own the rails their users transact on rather than paying rent to others.

**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)