Fees are also paid in Korean Won… Hashed Open Finance unveils its "Maru" blockchain.

Hashed Open Finance, a subsidiary of global Web3 venture capital firm Hashed, unveiled a lightpaper on the 22nd outlining its vision for "Maroo," a Layer 1 (L1) blockchain targeting the Korean Won (KRW) economy. The key feature is its emphasis on a structure where blockchain transaction fees are paid in KRW stablecoins.

According to the Lightpaper, Maru is designed to be a regulatory-friendly, open-based blockchain for the Korean won economy. While maintaining a public chain where anyone can create a wallet and send transactions, the protocol incorporates features to determine key requirements, such as identity verification and transaction amount, for transactions requiring regulatory compliance.



It's noteworthy that Maru's gas fee (transaction fee) is designed to be paid in OKRW (tentative name), a stablecoin pegged to the value of the Korean Won. For example, transactions on the Ethereum blockchain require the native token Ethereum (ETH). For companies, holding a highly volatile cryptocurrency for trading purposes has long been a financial burden.

Maru aims to reduce this burden, enabling businesses and developers to predict and manage infrastructure costs in Korean Won. While various stablecoins can be issued on the Maru chain, gas fees for network use will be unified and paid exclusively in OKRW.

This structure aligns with the discussion of the tokenized securities (STO) market infrastructure recently enacted. In its 2023 "Revised Plan for the Regulatory System for the Issuance and Distribution of Token Securities," the Financial Services Commission (FSC) proposed a standard requiring that the distributed ledger used to issue tokenized securities "not require separate digital assets for recording rights holders, transaction information, etc." This limits the public chain structure that requires a separate native token for STO issuance.

Maru proposed a design direction that addresses these institutional needs by fixing gas fees to a single stablecoin pegged to the value of the Korean Won. Hashed Open Finance, established with the goal of developing stablecoins, real-asset tokenization (RWA), and security tokenization (STO) businesses, also aligns with this vision.

However, the OKRW issuing entity has not yet been determined. A Hashed representative stated, "It has not been decided which consortium will issue OKRW, nor whether Hashed will directly participate in the consortium." The representative added, "Rather than assuming a specific operator or issuance structure, we are proposing a blockchain design direction that utilizes KRW stablecoins as gas fees."

Some of the core technologies applied to Maru are already being used in actual services. A prime example is the digital wallet "Sidanjumyeon," launched last year in collaboration with the Busan Digital Asset Exchange (BDAN).

Kim Ho-jin, CEO of Hashed Open Finance, said, "The name 'Maru' is inspired by the daecheongmaru (wooden floor) of a traditional Korean house. Just as daecheongmaru is an open space where the inside and outside, family and guests, naturally meet, Maru Chain aims to be an open infrastructure where regulation and innovation, privacy and transparency coexist." He added, "Maru is also the pure Korean word for platform, and it embodies our vision of becoming a platform where various fintech services are launched based on the won stablecoin."

Kim Seo-jun, CEO of Hashed, stated, "Stablecoins are emerging as a crucial pillar of financial infrastructure in the global market. Maru is an experiment that respects Korea's regulatory environment while pursuing global-level technological openness. We hope this will serve as a foundation for banks, financial institutions, and fintech companies to explore next-generation financial services together."

Reporter Do Ye-ri