Korean super app Toss is weighing a custom Layer 1 or Layer 2 blockchain and a native token to power its ‘Money 3.0’ stablecoin push, as Seoul finalizes a strict digital assets law.
South Korean payments and banking giant Toss is considering building its own blockchain network and issuing a native cryptocurrency, a move that would expand the super app’s stablecoin and Web3 ambitions into a full-stack digital asset platform, according to reporting from The Block. People familiar with internal discussions told Crypto In America that Toss is considering whether to launch on a standalone Layer 1 mainnet or pursue a Layer 2 scaling approach, with no final decision yet made. Insiders added that the architectural choice will be determined by the progress of South Korea’s Basic Law on Digital Assets, a landmark bill expected to codify the rules for issuance of tokens, stablecoins and crypto ETFs.
Operated by Viva Republica, Toss has quickly grown from a mobile money transfer app to a dominant financial super app with more than 30 million registered users and around 24 million monthly active users as of 2024, offering some 290 services from payments to trading and loans. The Korea Herald reports that Toss generated revenue of roughly $1.8 billion in 2025, up 38% year-on-year, while operating profit rose 270.3% to about $251 million and net profit rose 846.7% to about $151 million. At the 2026 Seoul Blockchain Meetup, Toss business development director Seo Chang-whoon said the company is “moving toward a new ‘Money 3.0’ era centered on blockchain and stablecoins,” and outlined a vision in which programmable money makes finance “universal, programmable, verifiable, composable and seamless.”
The Basic Law on Digital Assets – sometimes described by Korean lawmakers as a “fundamental” crypto statute – is expected to impose strict requirements on stablecoin issuers, including 100% reserve support in low-risk assets and possible limits in favor of bank-led consortia. Lawmaker Min Byeong-deok has called the bill “an important turning point for the future of digital finance in the Republic of Korea,” arguing that it will finally provide a clear legal basis for local companies to issue won-denominated tokens instead of sending operations abroad. Industry observers say the second half of 2025 through the first half of 2026 could be an “explosive growth period” for Korean stablecoins, as payment companies like Toss and rivals like Kakao Pay and Naver Pay roll out won-backed tokens and experiment with cross-border use cases.
For Toss, a proprietary blockchain and native token could serve as the backbone of that strategy, supporting everything from loyalty and money transfers to on-chain credit products that link the SohoScore small business lending model to smart contracts. “By 2026, we want to complete a borderless financial super app by redesigning money itself – removing boundaries, products, time and entities,” Seo said, describing the company’s blockchain push as essential infrastructure for the next phase of its growth. Whether Toss ultimately opts for a Layer 1 network or a Layer 2 network aligned with existing ecosystems will likely depend on how far the Basic Law goes in directing the issuance of stablecoins to bank-controlled consortia and what room it leaves for independent, fintech-led chains.