Dunamu, the operator of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, has entered a strategic partnership with Visa to research the use of stablecoins in payments, cross-border remittances and settlement, alongside artificial intelligence applications in commerce. The companies outlined their joint roadmap at Visa’s Global Market Support Center in San Francisco.

The collaboration will combine Dunamu’s digital asset technology with Visa’s worldwide payments network. The aim is to develop services for major markets covering payment flows, remittance rails and settlement mechanisms. Specific details on the stablecoin, blockchain network, custody arrangements or launch timeline have not been finalized. The work will advance in stages with attention to stability, transparency, interoperability and regulatory compliance.

Focus on Stablecoins and Multiple Options Under Review

Dunamu and Visa plan to examine how stablecoins can support faster and lower-cost value transfers, particularly for cross-border activity and settlement. One option under consideration involves business models linked to Open USD, or OUSD, a dollar-backed stablecoin initiative introduced by Open Standard. Open Standard has stated that more than 140 companies have signed on to use OUSD, with participants including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, Coinbase and BlackRock.

Dunamu has clarified that OUSD is only one of several stablecoin projects being assessed and that the company has not given priority to any single token. The partnership remains in a discovery and design phase focused on technical feasibility, performance, regulatory fit and integration pathways rather than an immediate commitment to issuance or a single model. In an earlier statement, Upbit noted that it was not taking part in the issuance of OUSD even though its parent company had been listed among connected businesses.

Agentic Commerce and AI Integration

Beyond payments infrastructure, the partners will explore agentic commerce. In this model, artificial intelligence agents would locate products or services and then complete purchasing and payment steps on a user’s behalf. The companies intend to study how AI systems can connect with stablecoin-based payment and settlement rails to support automated transaction workflows.

No specific pilots, product designs or compliance frameworks for agent-driven transactions have been disclosed. The effort is positioned as an examination of the technology, infrastructure and ecosystem required for such AI-enabled services.

Dunamu CEO Oh Kyung-seok and Visa Global President Oliver Jenkyn attended the roadmap presentation. The partnership forms part of broader activity by Visa in South Korea, where the payments company recently signed a similarly structured agreement with Shinhan Financial Group covering stablecoin pilots, AI payment models and settlement testing.

Exploratory Stage and Regulatory Context

The Dunamu-Visa arrangement is framed as research rather than a product launch. No target markets, settlement processes or consumer-facing services have been named. Progress will depend in part on the evolving regulatory framework in South Korea covering stablecoin issuance, anti-money-laundering requirements, identity checks and foreign-exchange controls.

Visa has reported that its own stablecoin settlement activity reached an annualized run rate of approximately $7 billion across multiple blockchains as of earlier reporting periods. The Dunamu collaboration adds a digital-asset exchange operator to the set of South Korean institutions working with Visa on related infrastructure questions.

Both sides have indicated that any future services will be developed in phases aligned with applicable rules. Further details on selected technologies, testing timelines or commercial models are expected to emerge as the evaluation continues.