Meme Coin 'Official Trump' Debuts on Korean Virtual Asset Exchanges

"Official Trump," a meme coin launched by U.S. President Donald Trump, debuted on Korea's virtual asset exchanges on Thursday, exhibiting significant price swings

An illustration featuring former U.S. President Donald Trump holding Bitcoin is displayed outside a cryptocurrency exchange store in Hong Kong on Dec. 5. (Yonhap)

Meme coins, a type of cryptocurrency issued without a practical purpose, mainly for fun, have seen a recent surge in popularity among Korean investors. Now, a meme coin launched by Trump himself has debuted on Korea's virtual asset exchanges.

Officials at cryptocurrency exchanges said Thursday that Official Trump, a meme coin launched by Trump last week in the U.S., has started trading on two out of the five virtual asset exchanges in Korea. They added that the coin is exhibiting significant price swings, which could deepen negative perceptions of the cryptocurrency market.

Launched on Friday in the U.S., Official Trump is now available for transactions on Bithumb and Coinone among Korean exchanges.

As of Thursday, the coin’s price at Coinone surged 135 percent to 83,900 won ($58.39) within 30 minutes of its listing on Monday. But it lost half of those gains the following trading day. Since then, it has seen further fluctuations, trading at approximately 55,000 won Thursday.

At Bithumb, the coin's price jumped 34 percent shortly after its Tuesday evening listing, reaching a peak of 71,650 won before sliding back to 55,000 won Thursday.

"Trump is likely to use his coin holders as a powerful community base for collective action," Ju Ki-young, CryptoQuant Founder and CEO, wrote on social platform X. "The coin’s value depends entirely on what Trump does."

Meme coins tend to have an unlimited or excessively abundant supply, which is a key factor behind their significant speculation and price volatility.

Officials are concerned that such volatility could deepen negative perceptions of the cryptocurrency market, especially as Korea's crypto market moves toward greater institutionalization and self-regulation.

"My concern is that people unfamiliar with the cryptocurrency industry may view the industry solely as speculative," said an industry official, who declined to be named.

"While the artificial intelligence agent narrative previously dominated the market, Trump-themed coins are now emerging as the leading trend. There’s growing community support for buying Trump-associated coins," said Hwang Hyo-jun, a researcher at Xangle.

Following Trump's successful coin launch, some investors speculate that cryptocurrencies linked to Trump or his family could become a trend this year.

"I expect to see coins emerging that are closely linked to Trump or his family members, such as Don Jr. or Eric Trump," said an industry official. "Investors seem to be buying any coins that are remotely connected to Trump."

However, ethical concerns have been raised, with U.S. lawmakers accusing the Trump family of using political influence to promote personal business ventures. Even within the crypto industry, there is unease about political meme coins.

"Personally, I don't think it's a good thing. I think it’s important for cryptocurrencies to maintain a certain level of dignity," said an official at one of Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

"I think it’s fine for people to have fun, but I hope they approach it with caution and not get swept up in the hype. I'm worried that this could damage the industry's reputation, which we've worked so hard to build."

Experts fear that the speculation such coins generate could harm the industry's reputation, particularly as Korea's crypto market moves toward greater institutionalization and self-regulation.

"I think the listing of Official Trump cannot be dismissed as the 'hasty listing of worthless coins,'" said Daniel Kim, founder and CEO of Tiger Research.

"We can view this as a natural progression within the market if proper risk disclosures and transparency are ensured, like in the case of Trump coins,” he added.