Upbit launches GIWA, a self-managed Ethereum Layer 2

Upbit announced on Monday that it has launched GIWA, a self-managed Ethereum Layer 2 built on the Optimism OP Stack. Upbit will operate the chain itself while the Optimism Foundation will provide technical support under a memorandum of understanding. GIWA is currently live on testnet.

Under the agreement, Upbit will run GIWA’s primary sequencer and control the chain’s configuration. Optimism will provide monitoring, a failover sequencer, priority patches and technical guidance. The two organizations framed Optimism’s role as a technical backstop rather than day-to-day operational control.

Optimism describes the arrangement as the Self-Managed tier of OP Enterprise, intended for operators that require direct control over their infrastructure. The foundation said the Self-Managed offering provides a safety net, including rapid response options for outages and security incidents.

A sequencer is the system that orders and batches transactions into blocks for a rollup. It decides which transactions are included or excluded, which can affect compliance, and captures transaction fees that generate revenue for the chain operator.

Upbit is South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange and says it serves about 13 million registered users. The company has at times ranked among the highest exchanges by cumulative spot trading volume. Optimism noted that large operators often prefer to retain control of transaction sequencing rather than outsource that function.

Nearly three dozen chains have been built using the OP Stack. Some of those networks are fully managed by the Optimism Foundation, which runs the primary sequencer and holds operational authority. Other networks operate independently but participate in shared features such as interoperability and infrastructure; such networks typically pay a small percentage of sequencer revenue to the Optimism Collective while remaining operationally distinct.

The memorandum makes Optimism a priority responder for outages, security issues and upgrades while Upbit keeps primary operational authority. Jing Wang, director at the Optimism Foundation, commented that large exchanges and institutional operators generally prefer to own the chain their users transact on rather than rent infrastructure.