Nexus buys One Store as Web3 gaming pushes for regular app users
Nexus Co. has bought an 89.03% stake in One Store for about 62.6 billion won ($40.74 million), giving it control of one of South Korea’s main mobile app stores. Nexus is not just buying shelf space. It is buying a route into more than 40 million phones, then trying to layer blockchain and AI features on top of that route. My take: that is more interesting than another Web3 game launch because the user does not have to begin in crypto at all.
Nexus, the company behind the $CROSS blockchain gaming platform, gained management control by buying shares from several existing investors. The share list is unusually concrete: SK Square Co. at 45.78%, Naver Corp. at 24.06%, Steel Number One First Co. at 17.02%, and Krafton Inc. at 2.17%. Nexus now holds 20,247,900 shares. One Store is a South Korean mobile app marketplace, closer to Google Play or Apple’s App Store than to a crypto-native product. That distinction matters.
Nexus is buying One Store for its users and distribution, then trying to turn both into part of its Web3 gaming plan. In the acquisition announcement, Nexus said it plans to connect its web shop, payments, and community platforms with One Store before expanding it into a Web3 game store. The planned features include DEXs, crypto wallets, stablecoins, and staking inside the One Store ecosystem. Most Web3 gaming pitches start with the chain and hope users arrive later. This is the reverse. Why does that matter? Because a crypto wallet inside an app store with more than 40 million users is not the same product as another gaming chain asking people to install a browser extension. The closest comparison is probably PayPal adding crypto buying and selling in 2020, when BTC moved past $13,000 and crypto started to feel less like a side quest for retail users.
CertiK Skynet pointed to the deal on X, especially the way One Store’s users could be brought into the $CROSS ecosystem. CertiK Skynet posted on June 20, 2026:
Nexus, the company building @$CROSS_Gamechain, just acquired ONEstore, an app store with 38M+ users.
It will fold those users into $CROSS and evolve the chain into ONEchain, which has already shipped Mainnet 2.0 and now holds nearly 2M accounts.
Breakdown below.
– CertiK Skynet (@CertiKCommunity) June 20, 2026
The pitch is easy to understand: put games, wallets, stablecoins, and DeFi tools in an app store people already know, and some of the friction drops away. I’ll be honest: I would not call that mass adoption yet. It is still a plan, not proof. But the playbook is familiar. Coinbase made crypto trading feel easier for retail users before BTC crossed $20,000 in 2017, and Nexus seems to be chasing the same “make it feel normal” effect inside gaming.
What this means
The deal shows Nexus wants Web3 gaming to reach regular mobile users, not only crypto traders and early adopters. For crypto investors, that widens the possible market for Web3 gaming tokens and platforms. $CROSS is the obvious token to watch because it sits at the center of Nexus’s blockchain gaming platform. If One Store users actually move into the $CROSS ecosystem, demand for the token could rise. Big if. More than 40 million possible users sounds impressive, but possible users do not automatically become active wallets, paying players, or on-chain traders. Counter to the usual Web3 advice, the app store audience may be the easy part. The hard part is giving those users a reason to touch the chain at all. The better comparison may be DeFi in 2020 and 2021, when usage grew because people had clear reasons to show up: yield and trading. Speculation did plenty of work too.
The rollout matters more than the headline. Investors should watch Nexus’s timeline for wallets, DEX access, stablecoins, and staking. User growth on ONEchain will matter too, especially if Nexus reports active wallets instead of broad app store reach. Is this just a token story? No. Transaction volume on the integrated DEX is another number worth tracking, and game usage may matter even more if Nexus wants this to look like consumer adoption rather than account farming. If Nexus can show real usage, not just account creation, $CROSS could react. Google Play and Apple’s App Store are also worth watching. They may ignore the move, tighten rules, or change their own blockchain gaming policies. Yes, that sounds like a side issue. It is not. If Nexus proves the model works in South Korea, larger tech companies may move faster.
FAQ
What is Nexus Co.?
Nexus Co. is a South Korean game developer behind the $CROSS blockchain gaming platform.
What is One Store?
One Store is a mobile app marketplace in South Korea. It works much like Google Play or Apple’s App Store and serves a large local user base.
How much did Nexus pay for One Store?
Nexus acquired an 89.03% stake in One Store for about 62.6 billion won ($40.74 million).
What are Nexus’s plans for One Store?
Nexus plans to turn One Store into a Web3 game store with blockchain and AI features, including DEXs, crypto wallets, stablecoins, and staking.
Why does this matter for Web3 adoption?
The deal puts crypto tools inside a mainstream app marketplace with more than 40 million users. That could make Web3 gaming easier for new users to try.
How might this affect the $CROSS token?
If One Store users start using the $CROSS ecosystem, demand for the token could increase. The real test will be active wallets, transactions, and game usage.
What Web3 features does Nexus plan to add?
Nexus plans to add decentralized exchanges, crypto wallets, stablecoins, and staking to the One Store ecosystem.
Which companies sold shares in One Store to Nexus?
SK Square Co., Naver Corp., Steel Number One First Co., and Krafton Inc. sold shares in One Store to Nexus.
What is “ONEchain”?
“ONEchain” is the blockchain ecosystem Nexus plans to build by connecting One Store’s user base with the $CROSS platform.
How many users does One Store have?
One Store currently serves more than 40 million users in South Korea.