Upbit, South Korea’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, has announced the launch of its own Ethereum layer-2 network, called Giwa, on testnet. The move signals the platform’s strategic expansion beyond crypto trading into broader Web3 infrastructure development.
The announcement was made during the Upbit D Conference 2025 on Monday. According to official documentation, Giwa — short for Global Infrastructure for Web3 Access — is built using the Optimism Foundation’s OP Stack, allowing for one-second block times while inheriting Ethereum’s core security for transaction settlement.
The Giwa testnet, named Giwa Sepolia, already includes built-in support for migrating Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible smart contracts and features a live block explorer for developers. While a mainnet launch date wasn’t disclosed, GitHub data suggests the project has been in active development for several weeks — possibly longer — as over 4 million blocks have already been added.
Much like Coinbase’s Base or Binance’s BNB Chain, Upbit’s Giwa is positioned as a blockchain that enables app development directly on a secure, high-speed layer-2 platform. The goal, according to its translated Korean documentation, is to make Web3 “easy and fun for everyone.”
Giwa also offers flexibility through customization features made possible by the OP Stack’s open-source design, making it adaptable as Web3 standards evolve.
The term “Giwa” references traditional Korean roof tiles often found on temples and palaces — symbolizing heritage and protection — and reflects the cultural identity Upbit is embedding in the project.
Upbit dominates the South Korean market, accounting for 73% of domestic crypto trading and posting $2.5 billion in daily volume, according to CoinGecko. Globally, it ranks 20th by volume, despite serving primarily South Korean users.
According to Chainalysis’ 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index, South Korea saw $1 trillion in crypto on-ramps from July 2024 to June 2025, second only to the U.S., which logged $4.2 trillion. Giwa could further entrench Upbit’s role in this surging ecosystem.