In Brief:
- One Store, the Korean app marketplace installed on more than 38 million devices, has joined the CROSS Protocol network as a validator, its owner Nexus said July 15.
- It becomes the network’s third validator, after H Lab and CertiK, and now runs node infrastructure for block production, transaction validation and network security on CROSS Mainnet 2.0.
- The move follows Nexus’s 62.6 billion won purchase of an 89.03% stake in One Store, part of a plan to rebrand the CROSS mainnet as OneChain and the $CROSS token as $ONE.
One Store is now helping secure the chain that may soon carry its name. Nexus said July 15 the Korean app marketplace has joined the CROSS Protocol as a validator, taking on block production, transaction validation and network security for CROSS Mainnet 2.0.
It’s the third validator on the network, after H Lab and CertiK. And it isn’t a small operator: One Store sits on more than 38 million devices in Korea and ranks as the country’s second-largest app marketplace by game transaction value.
the app store on 38M+ Korean phones just picked up a new job: validator.
ONE store is now helping secure Gamechain — not just distribute the games on it@CROSSView on X ↗
As a validator, One Store will stand up and run its own node, staking into the network’s Proof of Staked Authority set rather than simply listing the games that run on top of it.
How the deal came together
The validator role follows a takeover. On June 29, Nexus acquired 20,247,990 shares of One Store, an 89.03% stake. The company had disclosed on June 18 that it would buy the shares from existing holders including SK Square, Naver, Steel Number One Jeilcha and Krafton.
The acquisition is valued at roughly 62.6 billion won, about $45.3 million.
Nexus said it wanted One Store’s operational track record as a Korean app store paired with blockchain infrastructure, turning the platform into a global Web3 app store. Running a validator is one piece of that shift from Web2 distribution into network operation.
From app store to chain operator
One Store was set up in 2016 by South Korea‘s three largest telecom carriers, SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus, together with Naver. It was built as a domestic alternative to Google and Apple.
Now Nexus plans to fold its own web shop, payment and community platforms into One Store and add wallets, stablecoins, a decentralized exchange and staking. The company also described a goal of building an “AI-native game platform” that analyzes and curates AI-created games in real time.
The branding is being unified along the way. The mainnet known as CROSS will be renamed OneChain, and the native token $CROSS will be renamed $ONE.
The chain One Store is securing
CROSS Mainnet 2.0, the Breakpoint upgrade, went live June 1 with a 21-validator Proof of Staked Authority set. The design ties validators to staked capital and identifiable responsibility, keeping throughput high while giving operators real exposure to their own performance.
The network has been standardizing its markets around a single unit. Since July 9 UTC, the Gametoken DEX quotes and settles every pair in ONEUSD, the ecosystem dollar, with transaction fees routed into buybacks of the network’s native token.
One Store came to market a decade ago as Korea’s answer to the two American app stores. It now runs a node on the chain those same games are moving onto.
