Toss Mobile Payment Platform Partners with Optimism for Korean Won Stablecoin Trial: Sources
South Korean fintech app Toss joins forces with Optimism blockchain and Sunnyside Labs to trial proof of concept exploring Korean won stablecoin viability for payment systems.
According to reports, Viva Republica, which operates the South Korean mobile payments application Toss, has entered into a memorandum of understanding with blockchain platform Optimism to examine stablecoin infrastructure pegged to the Korean won for institutional payment applications.
Together with Sunnyside Labs, a provider of privacy-focused solutions, the collaborating entities will undertake a three-month proof of concept (PoC) leveraging Optimism's OP Stack technology alongside Sunnyside's Privacy Boost protocol to create a stablecoin denominated in Korean won and evaluate the potential application of these innovations to blockchain-powered payment infrastructure for domestic financial organizations, as Yonhap News disclosed on Wednesday.
The proof of concept initiative will investigate multiple key areas, including whether financial institutions can maintain control over settlement processes, the practicality of incorporating know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance protocols, and the possibility of maintaining transaction confidentiality on public blockchain networks.
According to the report, Toss intends to leverage the three-month proof of concept program as a foundational framework for establishing regulatory-compliant stablecoin payment systems within South Korea.
Cointelegraph has reached out to Toss seeking additional information regarding the stablecoin trial program.
The blockchain technology foundation will be supplied by Optimism, whereas Sunnyside Labs will contribute privacy-protection capabilities to safeguard transaction data. Sunnyside operates as a core development team within the Optimism Collective and has been responsible for constructing essential OP Stack infrastructure components.
Toss, which maintains headquarters in Seoul, commenced operations in 2015 and reports that its mobile platform serves over 30 million users.
Major payment processors experiment with stablecoins for enhanced settlement capabilities
The proof of concept undertaken by Toss mirrors comparable stablecoin-focused endeavors pursued by other major financial service providers operating in South Korea.
During late April, Shinhan Card, recognized as one of South Korea's premier credit card issuers, collaborated with the Solana Foundation to evaluate the commercial viability of stablecoin-based payments and non-custodial wallet technology, following the completion of a collaborative pilot initiative earlier in that same month.
Shinhan Card expressed aspirations to ultimately create proprietary DeFi-integrated services incorporating blockchain oracle technology, which serves as a mechanism for bridging information between offchain and onchain ecosystems.
Toward the end of last year, global payments leader Visa introduced USD Coin (USDC) settlement capabilities for select financial institutions based in the United States utilizing the Solana blockchain, representing one of the more sophisticated implementations of stablecoin technology to date.
Additional major payment service providers currently investigating stablecoin technology for enhanced payment processing and settlement operations include Mastercard and South Korea's BC Card.