Rising Volumes, New Listings, and a Meetup Frenzy in Korea
1. Market Overview
Last week, the Korean market saw fresh listings with Cyber and Towns joining the lineup, alongside continued strong activity in large-cap assets. ETH and XRP led overall trading by a wide margin, each recording multi-billion dollar turnover, while SOL and BTC also maintained heavy volume. This confirms that Layer 1 majors and blue-chip tokens remain the anchors of local trading activity.
At the same time, mid-cap tokens played an increasingly important role. Newly listed assets such as CYBER and PROVE quickly generated significant interest, while community favorites like ENA, PENGU, and SOON highlighted how user preference continues to split between emerging narratives and established altcoins. The overall picture suggests a two-track market: majors absorbing the bulk of liquidity, while selective mid-caps deliver high-beta opportunities for active traders.
2. Exchanges
2-1. Newly Listed Coins
Last week, major Korean exchanges introduced several new listings:
- Upbit listed Cyber.
- Bithumb listed Towns.
| Date | Upbit | Bithumb |
|---|---|---|
| 8/11 (Mon) | ||
| 8/12 (Tue) | Cyber (CYBER) | |
| 8/13 (Wed) | Towns Protocol (TOWNS) | |
| 8/14 (Thu) | ||
| 8/15 (Fri) |
Key Marketing Strategies & Takeaways
🔹 Towns Protocol (TOWNS)
Towns is a project positioned as a decentralized Discord platform and has conducted marketing by onboarding many domestic KOLs. It started with lead investment from a16z, which is popular among Koreans, and appears to have entered the Korean market early during the tester phase.
Towns allows each KOL to create their own Town and onboard their community members to interact with each other within the platform. By incorporating elements that require daily interaction, it encourages continuous engagement, and KOLs regularly guided their community members in utilizing the platform.
Beyond simple platform participation, Towns also addressed the decentralization of communities in depth, emphasizing its importance. With periodic platform updates, improvements and additions were communicated in real time.
2-2. Trading Volume
Last week, Upbit and Bithumb exhibited distinct trading volume patterns across their top 12 cryptocurrencies. Upbit’s highest volume was observed in ETH at $3.30 billion, followed by XRP at $2.74 billion and SOL at $1.44 billion, indicating a strong focus on major Layer 1 and utility tokens. Bithumb, in contrast, saw XRP leading at $1.26 billion, ETH at $1.14 billion, and USDT at $848 million, highlighting slightly higher activity in stablecoins alongside popular altcoins.
Across both exchanges, BTC maintained significant volume, ranking fourth on Upbit at $1.43 billion and fourth on Bithumb at $699 million, confirming its continued centrality in trading activity. Mid-cap tokens such as ADA, SOL, and DOGE also consistently appeared in the top tiers, while Upbit-specific high-volume tokens like CYBER and PROVE demonstrated notable platform-specific trading interest. Bithumb showed unique volume concentrations in ENA, PENGU, and SOON, reflecting a divergent trading preference among its user base.
The comparative analysis suggests that while both exchanges prioritize liquidity in top-tier cryptocurrencies, Upbit’s market favors broader exposure to emerging and platform-native tokens, whereas Bithumb emphasizes high activity in established altcoins and stablecoins. This divergence may influence short-term trading strategies and liquidity allocation for participants across the two platforms.
2-3. Top 10 Gainers
Last week, Upbit and Bithumb displayed distinct patterns in their top-performing cryptocurrencies. On Upbit, MNT led with a 26.79% weekly gain, followed by ARB at 22.92% and STRIKE at 21.65%, indicating strong momentum in mid-cap and platform-specific tokens. Other notable gainers included ADA and LINK, which rose by 19.79% and 19.55% respectively, reflecting continued investor interest in major Layer 1 tokens.
Bithumb’s top gainer was SKL, surging 72.84%, far outpacing other assets, followed by CTSI at 47.71% and ORDER at 23.49%, highlighting a sharp spike in smaller-cap and DeFi-related tokens. MNT also performed well on Bithumb, climbing 21.84%, alongside ADA at 16.22% and ARB at 16.27%, demonstrating some overlap in trending assets across the two exchanges.
Overall, the data suggests that Upbit’s price movements were relatively moderate but consistent across both mid-cap and major cryptocurrencies, whereas Bithumb experienced more extreme swings, particularly among smaller-cap and niche tokens. This divergence points to differing trading behaviors and investor risk appetites between the platforms.
3. Korean Community Buzz
3-1. KBW Side Events Heat Up
With Korean Blockchain Week just a month away, the official side event list is already live. Over 90 events have been confirmed and the number is expected to surpass 100 soon. Local communities are buzzing with “KBW survival guides,” from strategies to maximize airdrops, to choosing events with more international attendees for English practice, to complaints about transportation to the Walkerhill venue. For now, the Korean crypto scene is firmly shifting into “KBW mode.”
(Link)
3-2. Profit-Sharing Frenzy as Market Rallies
Ethereum’s strong performance last week sparked a wave of profit screenshots across Korean crypto communities. KOLs rushed to showcase their P&L histories and trading strategies, fueling excitement. One standout moment came from BbanDoong, who revealed a 25x ETH long position netting over $1 million in profit — earning congratulations and plenty of attention. The market heat is translating directly into higher community sentiment and retail enthusiasm.
(Link)
3-3. Korea Is in Full Meetup Mode
Korea’s crypto scene is in the middle of a full-blown meetup boom. From Monday through Saturday last week, the calendar was packed with events — even on Friday, a national holiday when many were away on trips. The lineup was nonstop: Nillion, Blockthon 2025 Hacker House, Starknet, Mad Lads, Chromia, Near, IMUA, Flare, Monad, and even a Korean football team collaboration. The sheer density of gatherings shows that Korea has officially entered its “meetup meta.”
4. Web3 Event
This week, Seoul is seeing a remarkable surge of crypto activity, with 12 different meetups scheduled across the city. The lineup reflects the diversity of the ecosystem, ranging from community-driven gatherings to protocol-focused events. Highlights include Pengu Korea’s playful pickleball meetup, the “Old School is Back” event featuring ORBS, KucoinWeb3, and IOST, as well as Layer3’s dual InfoFi meetup and workshop.
Also Zircuit, Bitlayer, and Bsquared × Hyperion hosting their own community sessions, while gaming-focused events are drawing attention ahead of the weekend. Seoul’s crypto scene continues to build momentum, with back-to-back meetups shaping the city into a vibrant hub of activity ahead of Korean Blockchain Week.
Play Pickle Ball with Pengu Korea!
Luma: (https://lu.ma/PenguKoreaPB?tk=2ruL4l)
Old School is Back [ORBS, KucoinWeb3, IOST]
Luma: (https://lu.ma/1gsa1beg?tk=Umtjcr)
InfoFi Meet Up by Layer3
Luma: (https://lu.ma/jhf2a6a3?tk=73L3uE)
thBILLionaire party in Seoul
Luma: (https://lu.ma/ib65qaqj?tk=6SxpZn)
Bitlayer Korea Meetup | Seoul
Luma: (https://lu.ma/7k586nax?tk=BCEjOi)
OpenMind Korea Meetup
Luma: (https://lu.ma/bs30e2np?tk=dCVa9b)
Zircuit Community Meetup | Seoul Korea 🇰🇷
Luma: (https://lu.ma/u8eanwzo?tk=5LNHe3)
B3 in SEOUL 2nd Meetup
Luma: (https://lu.ma/akesvw79?tk=uv2wRH)
AI, PayFi & BTC — Unchained with Bsquared × Hyperion
Luma: (https://lu.ma/5w6qqvgs?tk=T8PpHG)
PDAO in Seoul!
Luma: (https://lu.ma/2yot059s?tk=fbzdId)
Re:제로로 돌아간 웹3 게임 [Season 1]
Luma: (https://lu.ma/4i3yk2pw?tk=6DVOkp)
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!