South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, has added trading support for nine new tokens in its BTC and USDT markets, with trading set to begin at 15:00 local time on June 19.
The newly listed assets cover a wide range of sectors: PEAQ (DePIN), Litentry (LIT) (identity and data tools), Kamino Finance (KMNO) (DeFi liquidity), Morpho (MORPHO) (DeFi lending), Gram (GRAM), Lido DAO (LDO) (liquid staking), Pax Gold (PAXG) (gold-backed token), Osmosis (OSMO) (Cosmos ecosystem), and Amp (AMP) (collateral and payments).
The listings grant Korean retail traders direct exposure to these assets through Bitcoin and Tether pairs, though no Korean won (KRW) markets were opened. Upbit's decision is notable because South Korea's investor base often fuels significant short-term trading volume spikes upon listing—historically seen with tokens like PROS and VVV—though the effects may fade as early demand settles.
The exchange will apply standard trading controls at launch, including limits on certain order types and deposit network checks. The move broadens Upbit’s multi-sector coverage, adding DeFi, staking, and real-world asset tokens alongside its existing offerings. Among the listed projects, Morpho recently raised $175 million at a ~$2 billion valuation, while Lido DAO proposed a phased LDO buyback using treasury stETH, and Wintermute added PAXG to its institutional OTC suite—adding fundamental narratives behind the exchange debut.
