Dunamu, the operator of South Korea’s largest crypto exchange Upbit, signed a strategic partnership with Visa on August 28 to explore stablecoin payments, remittances, and AI financial services. The agreement sets a framework for research and business development rather than a product launch. The companies named no service, blockchain, custody provider, settlement process, or launch date.
Visa Worldwide Pte. Limited, Visa’s Asia-Pacific unit, signed the agreement with Dunamu. Dunamu CEO Oh Kyung-seok and Visa Global President Oliver Jenkyn presented a roadmap at Visa’s Global Market Support Centre in San Francisco.
The companies plan to combine Dunamu’s digital-asset technology with Visa’s global payments network. They will develop the work in stages around stability, transparency, interoperability, and regulatory compliance.
For now, Upbit users cannot make stablecoin payments or remittances under the agreement. Therefore, the partnership remains focused on exploring potential services rather than providing an immediate payment product.
Dunamu and Visa will also examine business models involving Open USD, or OUSD. The Open Standard initiative introduced the dollar-backed stablecoin in June 2026. Dunamu has not committed to OUSD and is not its issuer. Open Standard has named Visa, Mastercard, Coinbase, BlackRock, and more than 140 other organizations as participants.
Dunamu has said its own Open Standard involvement remains under review. It also described OUSD as one of several stablecoins that the company is considering. Visa said its stablecoin settlement activity reached an annualized run rate of about USD 7 billion in March 2026. Meanwhile, USDC traded at USD 1.00 on August 28.
USDC held a market capitalization of about USD 73.69 billion, while its 24-hour trading volume stood near USD 20.37 billion.
The Dunamu agreement follows a separate Visa partnership with Shinhan Financial Group announced earlier in the week. Shinhan plans to use Visa’s stablecoin platform to test issuance, remittance, and redemption.
As a result, a major South Korean bank and the country’s largest crypto exchange operator now have separate stablecoin development agreements with Visa. Yet neither agreement guarantees a commercial service. South Korean lawmakers continue to debate the Digital Asset Basic Act and rules governing the country’s developing digital-asset sector.
The discussions include who may issue won-backed stablecoins and what role banks should play. Dollar stablecoin services would also face foreign exchange and anti-money laundering requirements.
Read More: FASB Stablecoin Proposal Meets Visa-Mastercard Settlement Race
Dunamu said regulatory requirements will shape how its Visa partnership develops. The companies also plan to study AI-powered payments and infrastructure for agentic commerce. Under that model, AI agents could search for products or services and complete purchases for users.
He said the Visa partnership aims to connect digital assets with traditional finance while creating new global financial experiences. Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu recently described crypto and stablecoins as natural payment infrastructure for autonomous machine transactions. He said banks may take time to open accounts for AI agents.
Dunamu and Visa have opened a framework to study stablecoin payments, remittances, OUSD, and AI-driven finance. No product or launch date exists yet.
Future development will depend on technical choices, regulatory compliance, and South Korea’s digital-asset rules for any eventual public rollout.