Upbit Parent Files ‘GIWA’ Trademarks Amid Rumors of New Blockchain Launch

The parent company of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, Dunamu, has filed several trademark applications for what is rumored to be a new blockchain project under the name “GIWA.”

The trademark applications, which have been circulating on social media, including stylized letters next to what could be the logo of the project.

The rumors seem to have originated on microblogging platform X, where one user commented that a friend attending the Upbit Developer Conference (UDC) heard the blockchain is going to be its own blockchain network.

Since then, several posts have amplified the rumors, yet no official confirmation has come from Upbit or its parent company Dunamu.

A website tied to the name of the rumored blockchain, GIWA, is already live and currently features a countdown suggesting that the network could be announced within the next few hours. The countdown appears below text that reads “Coming soon.” The countdown coincides with UDC going live, as the event is scheduled for Sept. 9 in Seoul, South Korea.

Several other cryptocurrency exchanges have backed their own blockchain networks. These include Coinbase’s layer-2 Base, OKX’s OKChain, Binance’s initial support for the BSC Chain, which later rebranded to BNB Chain, and others.

More recently, Stripe and Paradigm unveiled Tempo, a blockchain for high-speed stablecoin payments. The project is backed by a list of heavyweight partners, which include Anthropic, OpenAI, Revolut, and Deutsche Bank.

CoinDesk has reached out to Upbit and Dunamu for comment but hasn’t heard back at the time of writing.