Toss, the South Korean fintech platform operated by Viva Republica, is moving deeper into digital asset infrastructure with plans for a proprietary blockchain network and native crypto integration. According to regional reporting cited in the source material, the company is developing a blockchain strategy intended to connect onchain services with its existing payments, banking, and securities businesses. The effort signals a broader push to bring Web3 functionality into one of South Korea’s largest consumer finance ecosystems.
Toss already serves roughly 30 million registered users, giving it a distribution base that few crypto-native projects can match. Through its super app model, the company has assembled a financial stack that includes Toss Bank, Toss Securities, and Toss Payments. If a proprietary chain is ultimately launched, Toss could extend that infrastructure into blockchain-based finance while retaining more control over transaction fees, governance rules, and application development than it would have on an external public network.
L1 or L2 Decision Still Under Review
The company has not finalized the architecture of the project. Reporting indicates that Toss is still weighing whether to build a full layer one blockchain from scratch or pursue a layer two design on top of an existing chain. That decision appears to be closely tied to the regulatory direction of South Korea’s pending Digital Asset Basic Law, which has become an important reference point for firms planning long-term digital asset products in the country.
This distinction matters strategically. A standalone L1 could offer Toss the greatest level of independence, allowing it to define core network rules and economic structures on its own terms. An L2 path, by contrast, could speed up deployment by leveraging the security and maturity of an existing base layer while still enabling more specialized financial applications. Industry experts cited in the source noted that both paths carry advantages: an independent chain can reduce third-party dependency, while a custom L2 may accelerate tokenization and service rollout.
Stablecoin Preparations Are Already Underway
Even as the mainnet design remains undecided, Toss has already taken visible preparatory steps. A dedicated Stablecoin Task Force, led by Chief Business Officer Kyuha Kim, has been formed inside the company. In June 2025, Toss filed 24 trademarks related to Korean won stablecoins, including the name TOSSKRW. Those filings suggest that the company is not only evaluating blockchain rails, but also thinking in practical terms about how branded digital currency products could fit into future services.
The source also notes that South Korea’s legal environment remains a major constraint. Stablecoin issuance intersects with regulations tied to trade settlement and foreign exchange controls, and the absence of a fully enacted Digital Asset Basic Law leaves important questions unresolved. As a result, Toss appears to be structuring its blockchain initiative around compliance readiness rather than rushing to market with a product before the rules become clearer.
Hiring and Wallet Development Show Concrete Execution
Toss’s ambitions are not limited to trademark filings or conceptual planning. Since February 2026, the company has been recruiting blockchain engineers for functions spanning wallet systems, APIs, transaction processing, node operations, cryptographic signing, and financial compliance. Those roles indicate that the project already involves a broad technical and operational stack, consistent with a serious infrastructure build rather than a narrow pilot.
The company has also confirmed that it is developing a Web3 wallet integrated directly into the existing Toss app. That approach is notable because it lowers adoption friction for mainstream users. Instead of requiring a separate wallet download, Toss aims to bring digital asset functions into an application that customers already use for everyday financial activity. According to the source material, the wallet is expected to support virtual asset storage, transfers, payments, and tokenized securities management.
In a company statement cited by the report, a Toss spokesperson said the firm views digital asset-based financial infrastructure as an important future area and is actively recruiting talent while considering collaboration with a range of partner companies, with a priority on acquiring technological capabilities. That language reinforces the idea that Toss sees blockchain as an infrastructure layer for future finance, not simply as an isolated crypto experiment.
“Money 3.0” Frames the Broader Strategy
At the 2026 Seoul Blockchain Meetup Conference in March, Toss Corporate Development Director Seo Chang-whoon outlined what the company calls “Money 3.0.” The framework centers on three major ideas: programmable money enabled by smart contracts, borderless finance unconstrained by currency, geography, or time, and a strategy for stablecoin issuance and distribution tied to real financial services.
This is a meaningful positioning shift. Instead of discussing blockchain primarily in terms of speculation or token issuance, Toss appears to be framing Web3 as an evolution of financial infrastructure. The source highlights a proof-of-concept linking SohoScore, Toss’s small-business credit model, with smart contracts for automated lending. While no commercial deployment has been confirmed, the example shows how the company is thinking about integrating blockchain logic with existing financial data and underwriting capabilities.
Owning or controlling the core network layer could be especially valuable in such scenarios. For a large fintech operator, blockchain infrastructure is not only about settlement. It also affects service rules, product design, cost structures, and the pace of innovation. A proprietary mainnet or tailored rollup could allow Toss to align network economics more closely with consumer finance use cases than a general-purpose public chain would permit.
Competitive Landscape in South Korea
Toss is entering a field that is becoming more crowded among Korean firms with crypto-adjacent ambitions. The source notes that Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, is developing Kiwachain, an Ethereum-based L2 network. Meanwhile, Hashed is advancing Maru, an L1 initiative focused on Korean won stablecoins. In that context, Toss’s move can be seen as part of a wider domestic trend toward proprietary or semi-proprietary blockchain infrastructure designed around local financial services.
What may distinguish Toss is the scale of its existing retail footprint. With tens of millions of users and established distribution through a financial super app, the company already has consumer touchpoints that many blockchain projects spend years trying to build. If regulation becomes more accommodating and the technical rollout is successful, that installed user base could become a significant advantage in onboarding users to stablecoins, tokenized assets, or onchain payment tools.
Financial Strength and IPO Ambitions
The timing of the blockchain initiative also matters from a corporate perspective. Toss reported its first profitable full year in 2024, with consolidated revenue of 1.956 trillion Korean won, or about $1.4 billion, representing a 43% year-over-year increase. The company is also targeting a U.S. IPO in 2026 at a valuation above $10 billion. Those milestones suggest that Toss is approaching blockchain expansion not from a position of distress or hype-driven urgency, but from one of growing business maturity.
The report further states that Toss is exploring partnerships with KB Financial and Samsung Card as part of its digital asset infrastructure planning, though neither company has publicly commented on those discussions. If such partnerships progress, they could help bridge traditional financial institutions with the company’s blockchain ambitions and broaden the practical use cases for any future network or stablecoin system.
No Launch Date Yet, but Direction Is Clear
For now, many of the most important implementation details remain unresolved. Toss has not announced a launch date for the mainnet, nor has it released technical specifications for the network or token model. The project is still in a planning and decision-making phase, with regulatory clarity and the internal L1-versus-L2 choice likely to determine the next milestones.
Still, the direction is increasingly evident. Toss is building internal teams, preparing stablecoin branding, developing wallet infrastructure, and publicly articulating a thesis for programmable and borderless finance. Taken together, those steps suggest a company attempting to position itself early for a future in which digital assets are embedded into mainstream consumer financial platforms rather than confined to standalone crypto exchanges or niche applications.
If that strategy succeeds, Toss could become one of the most important examples of a large Asian fintech company using blockchain not as a side business, but as a foundational layer for next-generation financial services. Much will depend on regulation, execution, and market timing, but the company’s latest moves show that its Web3 ambitions are becoming more concrete.