Narratives Rule Everything Around Korea: INIT, Sophon & Beyond
1. Market Overview
Last week, Korea’s crypto market spotlighted narrative-driven listings and diverging strategies between Upbit and Bithumb.
Sophon launched with Upbit listing and a long-anticipated TGE, following a $60M node sale. Despite early delays, consistent KOL updates helped build retail momentum. Initia also impressed with a gamified testnet and steady engagement, showing the power of community-driven branding.
Upbit maintained a curated listing approach (e.g. LPT, POKT), while Bithumb added mid-cap tokens like B3 and Xterio, keeping volume high but sentiment quieter.
Trading-wise, WCT’s trading pattern on Upbit drew attention due to a rapid rise and steep correction, sparking speculation about possible coordinated activity. Yet projects like MapleStory Universe faced backlash as gameplay and security issues undermined token traction.
The week highlighted how narrative timing, KOL trust, and user experience still shape success in Korea’s highly reactive market.
2. Exchanges
2-1. Newly Listed Coins
Last week, major Korean exchanges introduced several new listings:
- Upbit listed Sophon, Livepeer and POKT Network.
- Bithumb listed B3, Xterio and Flock.
| Date | Upbit | Bithumb |
|---|---|---|
| 5/26 (Mon) | ||
| 5/27 (Tue) | ||
| 5/28 (Wed) | Sophon (SOPH) | B3 (B3) |
| 5/29 (Thu) | Xterio (XTER) | |
| 5/30 (Fri) | Livepeer (LPT), POKT Network (POKT) | Initia (INIT), Flock (FLOCK) |
Key Marketing Strategies & Takeaways
🔹 Sophon (SOPH)
Sophon is a project that began drawing attention in the Korean market during the first half of 2024. It followed Aethir, which had previously conducted a successful node sale, by launching its own node sale.
Given the nature of node sales, where a significant amount of time may pass between the initial purchase, token distribution, and actual profit realization, investors tend to place greater emphasis on factors such as venture capital backing and project narratives. Sophon attracted attention by securing a $10 million investment from firms like OKX Ventures and Spartan Group, forming a partnership with Aethir, and receiving official mentions from zkSync.
Sophon proceeded with its node sale, and while it did not completely sell out, it raised approximately $60 million. The early closure of the sale meant that a larger portion of rewards could be distributed to existing holders.
However, more than seven months passed between the end of the sale and the launch of the mainnet, during which node operations could not begin. This delay led to some criticism from users. That said, Sophon was not idle during this period. The team consistently shared updates and relevant information with the community using KOLs.
At the time of the Token Generation Event (TGE), Sophon captured the attention of retail users by securing listings on Binance Spot and Upbit KRW markets, as well as through various campaigns such as quiz-based airdrops. Post-TGE, the team has continued to actively communicate about what the project is and the technology behind it.
While Sophon achieved significant traction at the time of launch, its success also underscores the critical importance of narrative timing in the Korean crypto market. The alignment of messaging, market sentiment, and community engagement proved to be a decisive factor—highlighting a valuable insight for future project launches.
🔹 Initia (INIT)
In April 2024, Initia created a private chat room and began allowing only a limited number of users to join through selective events with KOLs, leveraging the concept of exclusivity to leave a lasting impression of the brand. At the time, projects like Monad and Elixir were also operating private groups, creating a climate where many users felt a strong desire to be included.
Following this surge of interest, Initia launched its public testnet. The combination of Korean users' strong interest in testnets and investment from YZi Labs(ex. Binance Labs) led to wide participation.
To put it simply, the testnet involved periodically feeding a dog named Jennie, the mascot of Initia. Rather than simply asking users to generate transactions as a form of attendance check, the addition of a cute and gamified element allowed Korean KOLs to turn the experience into content. This creative angle helped maintain sustained attention on Initia’s testnet, rather than letting it fade quickly like many others.
After that, Initia periodically hosted AMAs, shared ecosystem updates, and communicated key information to testnet participants. Over time, the project advanced toward its TGE in a smooth, consistent manner, without any major gaps in engagement or development.
In addition, Initia actively embraced trends through Twitter posts, offline events, and merchandise, successfully establishing a trendy image. This kind of branding effort, in my view, also plays a crucial role in shaping a project's identity.
2-2. Trading Volume
Last week, trading volumes on Upbit surged, particularly driven by the sudden volatility surrounding WCT. Some community members speculated that the sharp pump and dump pattern may have been influenced by a market participant actively managing liquidity, though no conclusive evidence has been presented. In contrast, Bithumb remained relatively stable, with USDT, BTC, and XRP consistently topping the volume rankings.
Interestingly, tokens listed on both Upbit and Bithumb’s KRW markets exhibited different trading behaviors. This suggests that Upbit may offer a more engaged user base and favorable liquidity conditions for token projects and market makers aiming to generate volume—regardless of intent. As a result, Upbit continues to be perceived as a preferred venue for initial traction.
Among newly listed KRW pairs, Pocket Network (POKT) and Livepeer (LPT) saw strong trading volumes following their Upbit debut. NXPC also ranked within the top 10 most traded tokens during the week. However, the MapleStoryN game—underpinning the NXPC ecosystem—has faced increasing criticism from Korean users. Complaints range from a lack of compelling gameplay and financial incentives to unresolved issues involving exploitative bot activity, particularly from SEA and Chinese accounts. The project team has yet to provide effective communication or countermeasures, leading to growing user dissatisfaction despite the initial enthusiasm around the token launch.
2-3. Top 10 Gainers
Bithumb continues to take a more aggressive listing approach, introducing a wide range of new tokens, while Upbit maintains a more conservative and selective strategy. Following the listing of Livepeer (LPT) on Upbit, its trading volume and price surged on Bithumb, making it the platform’s top gainer for the week. Similarly, LWA rose to the fourth-highest spot, particularly after Bithumb temporarily suspended Sui network withdrawals and deposits in response to the recent Cetus protocol exploit.
Among tokens listed on both exchanges, MASK recorded the strongest price performance during the week, with TOKAMAK also showing moderate gains. Overall, price movements remained aligned with broader market trends, with few exchange-specific anomalies.
3. Korean Community Buzz
3-1. Upbit CEO steps down, and people are reading between the lines
Big news hit the Korean crypto scene as Seokwoo Lee, CEO of Upbit’s parent company Dunamu, announced he’ll be stepping down in July. While the official reason was “health and personal matters,” the timing raised some eyebrows. His successor? Oh Kyung-seok — a former judge and top lawyer with no Web3 background, but deep experience in law, tax, and compliance.
The community sees this as a “defensive move” to prep for increasing regulatory pressure. Some folks are optimistic about the stability he could bring, while others worry that Upbit might lose its edge in product innovation and crypto-native decision-making.
3-2. Korean presidential election D-1
With the national election just around the corner (June 3), crypto finally made its way into the big debates. Major candidates like Lee Jae-myung and Kim Moon-soo have mentioned policies around Bitcoin ETFs, stablecoins, and crypto-friendly regulation.
One KOL even joked that the debates felt like a “South Korea Mainnet AMA.” On Polymarket, Lee’s odds of winning are currently at 96%, and crypto Twitter is full of hopeful (and hilarious) takes. Most agree that the next administration could play a major role in shaping local Web3 policy — especially around tax and institutional adoption.
If you want to deep dive into this topic, tiger research has published an article:
Four Ways the Korean Presidential Election Could Impact the Global Web3 Market (Korean)
3-3. Kaito’s $LOUD campaign takes over Korean crypto Twitter
The LOUD leaderboard campaign from Kaito absolutely blew up last Friday. Korean KOLs, degen traders, and even casual users flooded Twitter with posts tagged @stayloudio and $LOUD, all trying to climb the leaderboard and earn airdrop rewards.
One well-known KOL publicly pledged to share half of their airdrop with followers — and perhaps thanks to that extra boost, they managed to sneak into the top 1,000 leaderboard spots by the end.
But it wasn’t all smooth —token sales got delayed, frustrating participants who had stayed up all night waiting. After the dust settled, people were divided. Some called it a fun and profitable ride, others felt it was a “snipers-only” event with little long-term value. Still, it sparked a lot of discussion about attention economies, loyalty, and whether viral airdrops are still worth the hype.
4. Events
Beginning this Monday, many KOLs have scheduled AMAs throughout the week. Shall we explore which projects are hosting them to share their latest updates with Korean users?
4.1. CUDIS AMA with Wecrypto
Cudis will be holding an AMA with WeCrypto on June 3rd at 8 PM KST via Twitter Space, featuring Cudis founder Edison. Cudis is a Solana-based project that collects users’ biometric data through a smart ring and app, offering AI coach support to help users discover personalized ways to improve their health. With its 1st anniversary and upcoming TGE approaching, Cudis is actively sharing project updates through AMAs with various KOLs.
4.2. Humanity AMA with Tebi (신기돈)
The Humanity Project is a decentralized identity (DID) platform designed to securely verify human identity in the digital age while respecting user privacy! This week Friday at 9 PM (KST), Tebi is hosting an AMA with Humanity. He is also running a USDT giveaway event for those who submit the pre-AMA questions and participate during the live AMA.
It’s been an exciting week in Korea, with various events taking place and a dynamic market keeping us all on our toes! Stay tuned for more updates, and if you'd like to receive this report every week, make sure to subscribe. For the latest news and insights on the Korean market, follow us on Twitter for all the action!