Meme Coins Surge as Korean Crypto Exchanges Competitively List Amid Growing Optimism

Cryptocurrency exchanges here are competitively listing meme coins amid growing optimism surrounding the market following Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election.

Major cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea are competitively listing meme coins amid growing optimism surrounding the market following Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election.

Meme coins are cryptocurrencies that are typically issued for fun and without any specific purpose. They gained immense popularity in 2023 and 2024, thanks largely to retail investors and social media hype.

The largest exchange in Korea by market, Upbit, has listed two major meme coins this month: PEPE and BONK. This move is particularly unusual, as Upbit has historically taken a cautious approach to listing highly volatile meme coins.

The only meme coins previously listed by Upbit were Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, the top two meme coins by market capitalization. Cat in a dogs world, a Solana-based meme coin that gained significant attention this year, became available on Upbit in September, following its listing on other exchanges like Bithumb and Coinone.

Meanwhile, Bithumb and Coinone, the second and third largest exchanges, have already listed a wide range of meme coins.

Bithumb holds the record for listing the most meme coins among domestic exchanges, supporting trading for five out of the top six meme coins (excluding dogwifhat). The five coins are Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, PEPE, BONK and FLOKI.

Coinone has listed four meme coins: Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, PEPE and BONK.

This rise of meme coins as a key category on exchanges can be attributed to the bullish market that emerged following Trump’s election, which sparked a positive outlook for the cryptocurrency industry.

A shift in perception toward meme coins is also seen as a contributing factor. Dogecoin’s surge in popularity, boosted by Tesla CEO Elon Musk who openly supported Trump, increased overall familiarity and acceptance of meme coins.

“When meme coins were first listed on domestic exchanges, there was significant caution due to their perceived risk,” an industry insider explained. "However, as meme coins have recently transitioned from being seen as risky assets to more familiar cryptocurrencies, exchanges likely feel less burdened when listing them.”

Industry officials expect the meme coin craze and the trend of listings to persist for the time being.

Attention is turning to whether meme coins not yet listed domestically, such as dogwifhat, and emerging hippo-themed meme coins will debut on local exchanges.

However, experts caution investors to be mindful, considering the volatility of meme coins that are issued without substantial technology.

“The majority of meme coins born from the frenzy of 2023 and 2024 have proven to be fleeting. A full 97 percent have already died, reaching near-zero trading volumes,” Josh Wong, macro researcher at Binance Research, the research arm of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, wrote in a recent report.