Bithumb Adds JTO and ETHFI Pairs, Upbit Boosts BIGTIME with KRW Listing

Bithumb, the largest South Korean crypto market, will add pairs for JTO and ETHFI tokens. The exchange listing is expected to bring new liquidity

Bithumb, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has announced the addition of JitoSOL (JTO) and EtherFi (ETHFI) trading pairs. This move is expected to provide increased liquidity for both Solana and Ethereum services.

The listing of JTO and ETHFI on Bithumb is seen as a significant development, as the exchange is known for its limited listings and focus on Korean won liquidity. With an average daily trading volume of 475 million U.S. dollars, primarily in Korean won, Bithumb has been cautious in listing new assets.

The new listings come amid Korea Blockchain Week, an event that showcases the year’s most active ecosystems. However, enthusiasm for token listings has been muted in an otherwise lackluster market.

Both Jito and EtherFi are leading protocols in the emerging field of liquid staking, which is crucial for both Solana and Ethereum.

As of September 5, Jito had nearly $1.75 billion in value locked in its liquid staking protocol. Jito also plays a key role in producing Solana blocks, earning priority fees and tips. As a result, Jito collects an average of $2.8 million in weekly fees, which amounted to over $100 million in the last quarter.

The rise of meme tokens has also brought increased attention to Jito validators, further boosting its presence in Solana’s liquid staking landscape.

The addition of the JTO market is expected to provide exposure to the growth of liquid re-staking on Solana, as JitoSOL expands its activities.

Meanwhile, EtherFi is among the most prominent liquid staking projects, attracting $5.77 billion, primarily in locked Ethereum (ETH) value. EtherFi also collaborates with EigenLayer, where eEth is used for re-staking, further tapping into liquidity to enhance security.

Both assets opened for deposits on September 5, requiring 22 confirmations for JTO and 33 confirmations for ETHFI to mitigate double-spending risks. JTO was listed with an initial basis price of $2.17, while EtherFi started at $1.27.

Following the news, JTO briefly rallied to $2.22, while ETHFI rose to $1.29. At the time of writing, the trading activity is yet to be reflected in data updates.

It's worth noting that Bithumb operates in a relatively isolated market, largely due to a strict policy on inflows from unregistered entities. In the past, Bithumb has taken measures to prevent inflows from other exchanges attempting to capitalize on arbitrage opportunities in Korean won trading pairs.

Specifically, Bithumb has blocked inflows and outflows to exchanges like Mexc, BitMart, and several smaller, riskier exchanges. As a result, the share of Korean won has declined, now accounting for only 2.3% of BTC trading and 0.83% of Ethereum (ETH) volumes.

Despite being a major exchange, Bithumb is known for its stringent regulations, which even extend to prohibiting its own employees from owning trading accounts on the exchange.

In other news, Upbit has boosted BIGTIME fortunes with a KRW listing.

The South Korean exchange has also seen a new development, with BIGTIME, a tokenized free-to-play game, now available for trading on Upbit. Notably, the exchange has also begun accepting Korean won (KRW) deposits for the game token.

Prior to adding the KRW pairing, BIGTIME was only available to trade against Bitcoin (BTC) on the exchange.

At the time of writing, BIGTIME volumes on Upbit have surged to over $79 million, while the token price rose from $0.067 to $0.08.

Having already secured listings on major exchanges like OKX and Coinbase, BIGTIME is among the latest assets to be listed on Upbit, which is known for its relatively lower-risk approach.

As BIGTIME prepares for trading and withdrawals on Upbit, the exchange moved a total of $3.6 million worth of tokens into two new wallets.

The Bigtime game marks a return to the trend of tokenized games, although in this case, the game had already achieved Web2 success before adding a token. Having slipped since late 2023, when it reached its peak valuation of over $0.82, BIGTIME may be poised for a breakout in an otherwise lackluster market.

Designed to be a game-first product, Bigtime features RPG elements, tokenized loot and NFT collections. Held by 20,306 wallets, BIGTIME tokens have been accumulating since the game began highlighting its collectible features.

Offering a personal metaverse that can be expanded with NFT items, the original Bigtime game remains free-to-play.