Why GIWA
Why KIMP is built natively on GIWA, the OP Stack L2 developed by Dunamu, and which GIWA features the protocol depends on.
The kimchi premium is a Korean market phenomenon. KIMP is built on the chain where Korean users, Korean identity attestations and, over time, Korean won liquidity are expected to live on-chain. That chain is GIWA.
What GIWA is#
GIWA is an Ethereum Layer 2 built on the OP Stack by Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, together with the Optimism Foundation. It is the first self-managed OP Enterprise chain and is headed for the Superchain.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Stack | OP Stack, Ethereum L2 |
| Block time | 1 second |
| Preconfirmations | Flashblocks, up to ~200 ms |
| Gas token | ETH |
| Chain token | None announced |
| Mainnet | Under development, date to be announced |
| Testnet | GIWA Sepolia, chain ID 91342 |
Testnet endpoints and explorer are listed in Testnet parameters. Official GIWA documentation is at docs.giwa.io.
What KIMP uses from GIWA#
One-second blocks and Flashblocks#
The index finalizes every 60 seconds, and traders open and close positions against the latest finalized value. One-second blocks keep inclusion latency low. Flashblocks give an earlier view of transaction status, up to about 200 ms after submission, through a Flashblocks-aware RPC using the pending tag. They do not make blocks faster. KIMP uses them so the interface can show a preconfirmed entry and mark without waiting for the full block. See Flashblocks usage.
Dojang attestations#
Dojang is GIWA's EAS-based attestation service. Upbit Korea issues attestations including Verified Address, Balance Root, Verified Balance and Verified Code. The KIMP Verified Lane reads the Verified Address attestation on-chain through DojangScroll.isVerified. This makes higher limits and sybil-resistant rewards possible without KIMP ever handling personal data. See Dojang integration.
ETH gas#
Gas on GIWA is paid in ETH. $KIMP is never used for gas. Traders need a small ETH balance on GIWA to interact with the protocol.
What GIWA has planned#
GIWA has announced several components that matter to KIMP. None of them is required for launch. Each is integrated when it exists.
| Planned by GIWA | Effect on KIMP |
|---|---|
| KRW stablecoin | Accepted as collateral, so traders can hold margin in won |
| Upbit data oracle | Becomes the primary source for the Upbit KRW price through a governance-controlled source switch |
| Paymaster | Gas may be paid in stablecoin, reducing the need to hold ETH |
| GIWA Wallet | A native wallet for Korean users to reach the protocol |
The oracle switch is described in Upbit Oracle migration. The collateral change is listed in the Roadmap.
Why not another chain#
The premium can be computed anywhere. The market around it cannot. A premium market needs participants who see Upbit prices every day, an identity layer that can separate verified Korean users from sybil accounts, and a path to KRW-denominated collateral. GIWA is designed to offer all three. Deploying elsewhere would mean rebuilding those pieces with weaker guarantees.
Deployment#
KIMP rehearses on GIWA Sepolia first and deploys on GIWA mainnet on day one. The mainnet date is set by GIWA and is to be announced. See Mainnet deployment plan and Mainnet.