Korean Exchange Listing Guide: Decoding the Black Box of Listing on Korean Exchanges

Author: K1 Research, Klein Labs

Key Highlights

1. South Korea's Market Size and Activity Lead Globally

   Since 2025, the trading volume of cryptocurrencies denominated in Korean won has consistently ranked second globally, only behind the US dollar market, and has long been a leader in altcoin trading, demonstrating high acceptance of new coins and abundant liquidity. For project teams, this is a high-potential market willing to experiment with new offerings.

2. Dual Drivers of Policy and Market Sentiment for Listing Pace

   Panel regression results indicate a significant positive correlation between the average monthly price of BTC and the number of listings on exchanges, suggesting that market enthusiasm directly influences listing decisions. Additionally, policy windows amplify this effect, highlighting the combined impact of regulatory signals and market sentiment. For project teams, when entering the South Korean market, it is essential to consider market enthusiasm, investor attention, and policy timing comprehensively to arrange listing schedules reasonably, enhancing project exposure while optimizing trading liquidity for strategic market entry.

3. The "Bridge Effect" of Token Listings and Market Diffusion Mechanisms

   From an overall perspective, both Bithumb and Coinone play a "bridge effect" in the listing pace, with some tokens listed on these two exchanges before entering the larger trading volume of UPbit. Coinone's listing performance is particularly notable, achieving a secondary amplification of price and trading volume. Project teams can prioritize Coinone as an entry point and gradually expand to larger exchanges, facilitating the release of resources and enthusiasm. All three exchanges belong to the DAXA alliance, and the internal transmission effect further enhances market diffusion for listings.

4. Differentiated Platform Selection for Listings

   There are significant differences in user profiles, listing pace, and market influence among exchanges, making the pursuit of the largest platform not necessarily the optimal strategy. For project teams, it is crucial to match exchange types and listing sequences based on token characteristics, community structure, and promotional budgets to improve the return on investment.

5. Localization and Multi-Channel Integration for Market Promotion in South Korea

   An effective market entry strategy in South Korea relies not only on listing applications to exchanges but also on Naver keyword optimization, local crypto forum topic guidance, offline marketing activities, and KOL collaborations. Project teams should synchronize listing schedules with localized marketing efforts to create a closed-loop conversion from awareness to trading volume.

01 Introduction

In the global cryptocurrency landscape, South Korea is rising at an astonishing pace. Since 2025, the total trading volume of cryptocurrencies denominated in Korean won has reached $663 billion, making it the second-largest cryptocurrency market globally, after the US dollar. Notably, South Korea has maintained a long-standing global leadership position in the trading of non-mainstream coins, boasting the highest trading volume of altcoins worldwide. Up to 25.4% of the South Korean population actively participates in cryptocurrency trading, a level of engagement that is extremely rare globally. This enthusiasm has also given rise to the unique "kimchi premium" phenomenon.

At the same time, the South Korean government is actively reshaping its cryptocurrency regulatory framework, moving away from previous restrictive policies towards a new phase that encourages innovation and market development. The recent introduction of a cryptocurrency ETF roadmap and stablecoin development plan not only injects new institutional benefits into the market but also further solidifies South Korea's strategic position as a significant cryptocurrency market in Asia and globally.

Against this backdrop, studying the potential of the South Korean cryptocurrency market can provide project teams with practical strategies for "how to enter South Korean exchanges" and reveal opportunities and risks in this unique market for investors. This research report will focus on the listing paths and performances of South Korea's five major exchanges—UPbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX—combining the latest data from 2024 to 2025 for a more micro and in-depth analysis, helping readers comprehensively understand the listing ecology and market logic of South Korean exchanges.

02 Preparations Before Listing: Marketing is Not Everything, but It is Indispensable

Successful listings depend not only on the project's hard power and technical level but also on marketing and publicity, which are equally essential. Especially in South Korean exchanges, where listing requirements are strict and numbers are limited, projects must possess strength in technology, community, and market recognition simultaneously. Below, we organize several key local marketing methods from the perspective of exchanges, focusing on their roles in enhancing project exposure, gaining user recognition, and attracting capital attention, providing reference experiences for successful listings:

2.1 KOL and Community Influence

In the promotion and listing process in the South Korean market, high-quality local KOLs and community resources are indispensable. Currently, several highly active and professionally content-producing Korean crypto communities have been deeply engaged in the market for a long time.

On Telegram, KOL communities with a coverage of 20,000 to 40,000 members, known for their professional and high-quality content, include:

• MBM Creator Academy (@MBMweb3)
• We Crypto Together (@WeCryptoTogether)
• Cobacknam Announcements (@cobacknamannounce)
• Yobeul's World (@yobeullyANN)
• Telegram Coin Rooms & Channels - CEN (@emperorcoin)
• Jammin123 (@muijammin123)
• Fire Ant CRYPTO (@fireantcrypto)
• Youth Passion Flavor House Co., Ltd. (@minchoisfuture)

These groups are all early-established core OG communities, possessing historical depth and influence, and gathering experienced and atmosphere-creating active players, enjoying high popularity in South Korea.

Additionally, there are smaller communities with stable membership around 10,000, which, although smaller in scale, have more precise user profiles and higher stickiness, including:

• CRYPTO Sea (@crypt0_sea)
• KOOB Crypto 3.0 (KOOB Crypto) (@kookookoob)
• Coin Boy's Crypto Story (@coinboy)
• Naback's coin life (@ysy_top2)
• Lee Dojin Metaverse Announcement (@leedojin2)

Considering that South Korea has a population of only 50 million, a few tens of thousands of followers is already a significant scale compared to English-speaking and other communities. Unlike the English-speaking area, the use of X is still relatively rare among Koreans (though there is a trend of some KOLs and users migrating to X), with more people using Kakao and Telegram. Due to stricter speech controls on Kakao, the number of users on Telegram is relatively higher.

These KOL communities not only have a wide coverage but also play an important role in the transmission of industry information and the guidance of market sentiment, providing a solid foundation for projects to land and enhance their volume in South Korea. Additionally, many unlisted KOLs also possess considerable influence.

2.2 Media Coverage and Article Promotion

In the promotion and listing process in the South Korean market, authoritative media coverage that aligns with local investor preferences is also crucial, as it can quickly establish project credibility and effectively expand market awareness and participation.

• CoinNess

CoinNess is a leading cryptocurrency media platform in South Korea, focusing on real-time translation and publishing of overseas news. Its Live Feed service provides investors with the fastest market updates. As the largest institutional-level cryptocurrency investment information provider in South Korea, CoinNess also collaborates with the Korean national news agency Yonhap Infomax to exclusively provide real-time cryptocurrency news sources. (@coinnessgl)

• Blockmedia

As South Korea's first blockchain-focused media, Blockmedia has long focused on trends in traditional finance and the cryptocurrency market, project developments, and regulatory dynamics. Although its real-time reporting is slightly inferior to CoinNess, it has earned a reputation in the industry for high-quality content and in-depth analysis, covering a wide range of topics including regulations, technology, and lifestyle. (@with_blockmedia)

• TokenPost

TokenPost is South Korea's largest blockchain and cryptocurrency media outlet, frequently participating as an official media partner in government blockchain forums, Asian cryptocurrency summits, and technical seminars. It has a data platform and industry research department, providing customized intelligence and in-depth analysis services for institutions and enterprises, combining authority and professionalism. (@tokenpost)

• Bloomingbit

Bloomingbit is the most influential and credible comprehensive financial media group in South Korea—an authoritative cryptocurrency information platform under the Korean Economic Media Group, providing 24/7 news and market reports on blockchain and cryptocurrencies selected by industry experts. Bloomingbit combines broad influence with professional interpretation capabilities, becoming an important information source for institutional investors. (@bloomingbit_io)

2.3 Professional Consulting Firms and Research Platforms

Due to some investors' difficulty in fully understanding the structure and key points of projects, the marketing of cryptocurrency listings thus relies on professional consulting firms and research teams to help interpret the core value and market potential of projects, providing in-depth analysis and decision-making support for investors.

• Despread

As a leading cryptocurrency data analysis platform, its in-depth market research and industry trend reports help project teams understand market dynamics and accurately assess competitiveness, allowing for more targeted marketing strategies. (@DeSpreadTeam)

• Xangle

With its strong blockchain data analysis capabilities and transparent project review mechanisms, Xangle provides authoritative risk assessments and decision-making support for investors. It serves as an important information platform in the cryptocurrency industry. (@Xangle_official)

• Tiger Research

Through in-depth research, GTM consulting, and strategic investment, Tiger Research not only gains insights into industry trends but also helps projects optimize growth paths and market strategies, promoting the long-term development of the Web3 ecosystem. (@TigerResearch)

• K1 Research

With its advanced market analysis capabilities and strategic data-driven decision-making, K1 Research provides in-depth market insights and trend forecasts for cryptocurrency projects and investors. Through data analysis, it helps optimize investment decisions and risk assessments, supporting the sustainable development of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. (@K1_Research)

2.4 Other Methods

1. SEO Optimization: Based on the above methods, more refined SEO strategies can be developed for the South Korean market, especially on the Naver platform, which yields the best results. If executed properly, this can significantly enhance project exposure and increase the success rate of listings.
2. In-depth Forum Viral Marketing: Coupled with community and viral forum marketing, this can effectively amplify discussion heat and user attention, achieving cross-layer penetration. For example, posting culturally relevant meme images on local popular platforms like Coinpan can often stimulate spontaneous user creation and dissemination, forming sustained heat diffusion.
3. Offline Activities: Offline activities are an important part of marketing projects in South Korea. These include community study groups, seminars, and hosting presentations while distributing tokens on-site, which can enhance user trust and brand stickiness while promoting community member interaction and word-of-mouth dissemination.
4. Event Sponsorship: This includes sponsorship of both cryptocurrency and non-cryptocurrency events. A common example in cryptocurrency event sponsorship is hackathons. In non-cryptocurrency event sponsorship, sports events are the most widespread, such as soccer, racing, and esports events, which not only increase awareness of the project among potential users but also significantly enhance brand influence.
5. Kaito Marketing: Kaito marketing is based on algorithms and data, providing rankings and metric tools that allow project teams to monitor user participation and interaction effects in real-time, achieving transparent and efficient targeted promotion. The cost structure is more friendly to small and medium projects, helping to enhance community activity and precise user reach, but care must be taken to avoid excessive noise that could lead to user backlash.
6. Professional Marketing Solutions: Engaging professional third-party marketing agencies for comprehensive managed marketing, including brand positioning, community operation, content creation, and advertising placement, to enhance exposure and user participation.

03 Basic Situation of Listings on South Korean Exchanges

3.1 Market Share

• UPbit: Due to competitive pressure from other exchanges launching trading fee reduction activities, UPbit's market share has gradually declined from a high of 86% in 2021, stabilizing at around 70% by February 2025.
• Bithumb: With proactive marketing strategies, especially significantly increasing marketing investments and launching zero-fee promotions since 2024, Bithumb has achieved a significant rebound in market share, maintaining a trading volume of about 26%.
• Coinone: Since launching the "zero-fee early bird ticket" to attract new users in October 2024, Coinone has also implemented community operation strategies such as trading leaderboards and activity survey participation codes, accelerating market share growth while solidifying its existing user base, currently holding about 3% market share.

Among all South Korean exchanges, the combined market share of the top three exchanges—UPbit, Bithumb, and Coinone—reaches as high as 99%, while Korbit and GOPAX together account for about 1%.

These major exchanges are all part of the DAXA alliance, which enhances the overall stability of the industry and the efficiency of listing transmission through information sharing and market collaboration, while also creating a certain coordinated effect in the listing pace and market response for new coins. In 2023, the five major cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea established DAXA (Digital Asset Exchange Alliance) as a self-regulatory alliance aimed at improving the transparency, compliance, and investor protection levels of the cryptocurrency asset market. The alliance ensures that project teams meet safety and compliance requirements through unified listing standards while collaborating with regulatory agencies to promote policy improvements, thereby enhancing the overall compliance and transparency of the industry.

Since the virtual asset committee meeting in June 2025 confirmed that the "zero-fee policy" applies to South Korea's three major fiat-to-cryptocurrency exchanges—UPbit, Bithumb, and Coinone—it has further solidified and promoted the dominant position of these three in the market.

3.2 Supported Trading Pairs

3.3 Number of Listings

To analyze the listing situation, we selected the period from January 2024 to July 2025 as the statistical interval. This period not only covers a complete cycle of bull and bear markets but also includes significant political milestones in the South Korean cryptocurrency market. This statistical interval can comprehensively reflect the changes in the number of listings on South Korean exchanges and the market environment, providing reliable references for studying listing patterns and marketing strategies.

Overall, during the statistical period, the number of listings in the South Korean market shows a significant upward trend, particularly active in the second quarter of 2024 and the first half of 2025. During this period, almost all major exchanges accelerated the pace of new coin listings, with market activity reaching relatively high levels. This phenomenon is closely related to the policy environment.

• In the second quarter of 2024: The "Virtual Asset User Protection Act" is set to take effect on July 19. In the two months leading up to the official implementation of the new regulations, leading exchanges like UPbit and Bithumb noticeably accelerated their listing and token review processes, attempting to complete more project listings during the brief "window period" before the implementation of stricter token listing and existing token review mechanisms. This concentrated listing behavior during this phase directly boosted the overall number of listings in the market.
• In the first half of 2025: Political factors also played an important role. During the South Korean elections, Lee Jae-myung clearly stated that he would fully support the local cryptocurrency industry and promote the legalization and deregulation of cryptocurrencies. This policy expectation, along with the subsequent introduction of the "Digital Asset Basic Law," further strengthened market confidence. For the world's largest altcoin trading market, known for its activity and speculation, the implementation of this law is widely viewed as a significant benefit, prompting exchanges and project teams to accelerate their layouts in the short term.

Specifically, against the backdrop of the overall market listing boom, the strategic differences among different exchanges also reflect their varying considerations in resource allocation, risk tolerance, and competitive positioning.

• Bithumb ranks first in the number of listings, leading other exchanges. Bithumb not only has advantages in user base and liquidity but also maintains a relatively aggressive listing pace to seize market opportunities.
• Among the top three exchanges, UPbit and Coinone have similar numbers of listings, reflecting a more stable and cautious listing strategy focused on maintaining existing ecological stability and compliance requirements.
• In contrast, Gopax and Korbit have relatively fewer listings, indicating that these two exchanges have a smaller scale in introducing new coins. This is closely related to their limited market size, funding strength, and risk control capabilities.

04 Analysis of Listing Paths

After gaining a preliminary understanding of the listing characteristics and overall situation of several major exchanges in South Korea, the next step will be to conduct an in-depth analysis based on specific listing price data. By comparing the specific data on the types of listings and their performances across different exchanges, we can more clearly outline their commonalities and differences in project selection, pricing strategies, and market feedback, thus providing a more intuitive and data-supported perspective for understanding the operational logic and competitive strategies of each exchange.

To more accurately grasp the overall patterns and trend characteristics of listings in South Korea, this study will focus on analyzing the three exchanges with the highest market share.

4.1 Analysis of Listing Numbers and Influencing Factors

4.1.1 Monthly Overview of Listings by the Three Major Exchanges

Overall Trend: Since November 2024, the number of listings across the three major exchanges has shown an upward trend. The increase in the number of listings reflects heightened market sentiment. In November 2024, the results of the US presidential election were announced, with Trump winning, bringing new confidence to the market. Meanwhile, Bitcoin prices continued to reach new highs, with popular sectors such as Layer 1, memecoins, AI, and DeSci performing strongly, leading to positive market sentiment. During this period, the exchanges' listing activities noticeably increased, reflecting the pattern that the number of listings typically rises during bull markets.

Specific Analysis:

• UPbit: The overall peak characteristics are quite evident, with significant differences between listing dense periods and calm periods, showing three peaks in total, occurring in June 2024, November 2024, and May 2025. The latter two concentrated listings coincide with market bull runs:

In November 2024, Bitcoin rose nearly 40%, driving overall market prosperity;

In May 2025, Bitcoin broke through the $100,000 mark, and Ethereum also rebounded strongly, with listings concentrated in the Layer 1 sector, coinciding with the regulatory window period before the formal introduction of the "Digital Asset Basic Law."

Although BTC and ETH showed weak performance in June 2024, the overall market capitalization of South Korea's cryptocurrency market remained high, and exchanges initiated a public official cryptocurrency asset information disclosure system, enhancing transparency, which also led to a peak in listings for UPbit that month.

• Bithumb: The number of listings peaked in January 2025. Since November 2024, its number of listings rapidly climbed to 24 new coins in a single month, stabilizing at around 10 new coins per month, nearly double the average level in the first half of 2024. Since the strategic adjustment in 2023, Bithumb's market share has steadily increased. With the new president taking office and favorable conditions for South Korea's cryptocurrency market, it has adopted a more aggressive listing strategy to accelerate market share capture.

At the beginning of 2025, Bithumb accelerated its listing pace to capitalize on user growth trends and attract more participants. This move is closely related to the fact that the proportion of new users among South Korean cryptocurrency investors reached 33% in December 2024, driven mainly by market sentiment from Bitcoin halving and Trump's victory, indicating that the user base is continuously expanding.

• Coinone: The listing pace is relatively balanced, maintaining a stable high volume of listings in the first quarters of both 2024 and 2025. In May of this year, Coinone's number of listings reached a significant peak, surpassing previous months' peaks. This change is attributed to the previously launched fee reduction policy and marketing investments, successfully solidifying a loyal user base; at the same time, various favorable news about cryptocurrencies and the introduction of the "Digital Asset Basic Law" provided stronger policy support for Coinone. Based on these factors, Coinone chose to increase the variety of listings, attracting more users by expanding the number of supported trading pairs, thus further expanding its market share.

Similar to UPbit, Coinone also reached a phase peak in May of this year; however, unlike UPbit, which saw a sharp decline in listings in July, Coinone achieved another new high in the same month. This indicates that the two exchanges have different strategies in responding to market conditions. Overall, the listing pace is closely related to BTC price trends and market sentiment, with Coinone more inclined to maintain active new listings during bullish phases to attract users and sustain growth momentum.

From the index curve of the number of listings, UPbit and Coinone show similar overall trends but different performance styles. UPbit's curve peaks and troughs are more pronounced, forming periodic adjustments to help maintain overall balance; in contrast, Coinone's curve maintains a high degree of synchronization with BTC price trends, remaining relatively stable and continuously upward, indicating that its listing strategy directly follows market conditions, pursuing stable expansion.

4.1.2 Quantitative Analysis of Influencing Factors on Listing Numbers

This section employs a fixed-effects regression model using panel data to systematically evaluate the impact of BTC prices, trading volume in Korean won, and policy factors on the number of listings on major South Korean exchanges.

• Panel data has the advantage of simultaneously containing both time series and cross-sectional dimensions, allowing for the control of individual differences while capturing the dynamic effects of variables over time. Compared to single cross-sectional or time series analyses, the panel method can effectively improve estimation accuracy and reduce omitted variable bias.
• The introduction of the fixed-effects model primarily aims to control for time-invariant characteristics at the exchange level, avoiding interference from these long-term structural differences in coefficient estimation. By introducing exchange fixed effects αᵢ, the model can focus on changes over time, thereby more accurately identifying the marginal effects of BTC price fluctuations, trading volume changes, and policy windows on listing decisions.
• In interpreting the results, this study uses p-values as the core measure of statistical significance. When the p-value of a variable exceeds 0.05, it indicates that at the 5% significance level, we cannot reject the null hypothesis that "the coefficient equals zero," meaning the model does not provide sufficient evidence to prove that the variable has a stable statistical association with the number of listings during the sample period. However, statistical insignificance does not equate to economic ineffectiveness. In the highly volatile environment of the cryptocurrency market, short-term sample noise, measurement errors of variables, and individual heterogeneity may obscure their true effects. Therefore, for variables with p-values > 0.05, we will adopt a cautious interpretation in our conclusions, discussing economic implications and potential mechanisms rather than relying solely on statistical significance for judgment.

We set the following model:

Where:

listings: the number of listings by exchange i in month t

btc_price: the average BTC price in that month (in USD)

krw_trade: the total trading volume in Korean won for that month (in billions)

policy: policy dummy variable (1=policy window period, 0=no)

αᵢ: exchange fixed effects to control for long-term strategic differences among exchanges.

Panel regression results indicate:

• BTC price is significantly positively correlated. For every $1 increase in BTC, the average number of listings increases by about 0.00012; if the average monthly BTC price rises by $10,000, the average number of listings will increase by about 1.19, with a very small p-value, indicating that this relationship is statistically robust.
• Changes in trading volume denominated in Korean won are not significantly correlated with the number of listings, possibly due to substantial short-term trading fluctuations and project heterogeneity, which do not directly drive the listing strategies of exchanges.
• The policy window period does not have a significant impact on the number of listings, suggesting that different exchanges respond differently to policy changes.
• The fixed effect αᵢ helps control for long-term strategic differences among exchanges, allowing the model to focus on the impact of time-varying factors.

When further analyzing the differences among exchanges, the regression results show:

• In comparison, UPbit and Bithumb have slightly lower marginal responses to BTC prices, but the difference with Coinone is not statistically significant, indicating that the three major exchanges exhibit a similar positive response pattern to BTC price fluctuations.
• Specifically, Coinone is particularly sensitive to changes in BTC prices. For instance, when the average BTC price increases by $10,000, the number of listings on Coinone is expected to increase by about 1.45, indicating that price increases stimulate its new token listings to capture market enthusiasm and investor attention.
• Overall, BTC price signals have a significant impact on the listing decisions of South Korean exchanges in the short term and serve as an important reference for project teams in choosing listing windows.

Combining the two analyses, the conclusions indicate:

• During favorable market conditions, the three major exchanges generally adopt synchronized expansion strategies, but Coinone is more sensitive to market conditions.
• BTC price is the main driver of the number of listings rather than a differentiation in strategies among exchanges.
• The South Korean cryptocurrency market is generally guided by macro market conditions, with the differences among exchanges having limited impact on long-term strategies.

4.2 Analysis of Listing Sectors

To delve into the sector preferences of the three major South Korean exchanges for new token listings, we systematically organized and analyzed their recent listing situations. This analysis provides project teams with reference strategies for listings and helps investors identify potential investment targets while grasping the hotspots and trends in the South Korean local market.

Commonalities

• In the listing structure of the three major exchanges, the number of DeFi, Layer 1, and Infra projects ranks among the top. This indicates that all platforms remain highly focused on sectors with practical application value in their listing strategies, particularly emphasizing the DeFi ecosystem and Web3 foundational infrastructure. DeFi projects account for about one-third of the total number of listings.
• In the DeFi sector, the three exchanges jointly listed 12 major overseas quality projects, including BABY, COW, DEEP, DRIFT, ENA, HAEDAL, JTO, JUP, KERNEL, PUFFER, W, and ZRO, all of which are representative projects with high recognition and user bases globally, reflecting the exchanges' convergence in selecting high-quality DeFi assets.
• In contrast, the number of listings in emerging sectors such as NFT and SocialFi is significantly lower across the three platforms. From the explosive growth in 2020 to the rollercoaster fluctuations in the market and the prolonged winter for NFTs, market sentiment and liquidity have remained under pressure. Recently, the NFT market has seen a strong rebound, and the three major exchanges have selectively listed three leading blue-chip NFT projects—PENGU, ME, and ANIME—while maintaining a relatively cautious and observant attitude towards the NFT sector overall.

Differences

• Bithumb ranks first in the number of listings during the statistical period, and compared to UPbit and Coinone, it has a higher proportion of new tokens in the DeFi and AI sectors, fully reflecting Bithumb's keen capture of market opportunities and hotspots during the AI boom in 2024, as well as its rapid response in listing strategies.
• Coinone and UPbit have a high degree of overlap in overall listing numbers and timing, but there are significant differences in their specific token selection styles. For example, in the DeFi sector:
• UPbit has independently listed established projects like COMP and BNT, which have long-term ecological support and market validation, demonstrating a focus on stability and historical performance.
• Coinone, on the other hand, has independently listed relatively newer but promising innovative DeFi projects like NAVX and YALA, showcasing an open attitude towards emerging quality projects and forward-looking layouts, with more inclusive selection criteria favoring early innovative projects with long-term growth potential.

4.3 Analysis of Token Price Performance

This study primarily focuses on the price performance of newly listed tokens on the three major exchanges. It examines price changes on the 1st, 7th, and 30th days compared to the initial pricing set by the exchanges for new tokens, analyzing trends, volatility patterns, and market reactions.

• The price on the first day reflects the market's immediate acceptance of the new asset, influenced by speculation and FOMO, making it a critical phase for initial market pricing;
• Price changes from the 1st to the 7th day can capture short-term market sentiment and initial recognition of the project's fundamentals, measuring the sustainability of market enthusiasm and helping to assess reasonable initial pricing;
• Price trends from the 1st to the 30th day reflect the long-term support of the token, as short-term speculation cools and speculators exit, the changes in price and trading volume become important references for market recognition.

To calculate price returns, we excluded extreme values that could impact the overall trend by removing the top and bottom 25% of outliers and used trimmed means for analysis, thus more accurately reflecting the typical price volatility of tokens.

• UPbit: The average closing price on the first day is the lowest, possibly due to a large user base and concentrated selling by speculators, leading to price pressure on the first day. On average, UPbit's price quickly rebounds on the seventh day, with the subsequent increase gradually diminishing, showing a steady upward trend after short-term adjustments.
• Bithumb: The price performance shows the greatest average volatility, with both increases and decreases being quite pronounced, likely due to its diverse range of listed tokens and high market activity. Although the curve indicates an upward trend for Bithumb, the steep slope and amplitude may also increase investor risk.
• Coinone: The price changes show the smallest amplitude, indicating higher stability and predictability. Throughout the observation period, its price trend remains stable, with the increase on the 30th day even surpassing that of UPbit, suggesting that even with limited short-term fluctuations, the token still possesses sustained upward potential. This stable return indicates that investors face relatively low price volatility risks, making it more suitable for investment strategies focused on stable returns and long-term investment value.

4.4 Return Analysis: The Bridge Effect of Listings

4.4.1 Research Methodology

In this study, we analyze secondary indicators—token returns—to examine the impact of the initial listing on South Korean exchanges on the price performance of newly listed tokens. Compared to absolute prices, returns have significant advantages:

1. Ignoring unit effects: Compared to absolute prices, returns are relative indicators, unaffected by token face values or trading unit differences, facilitating comparisons across tokens and exchanges.
2. Reducing scale bias: Directly comparing prices may be misleading due to the vast differences in token prices, while returns can standardize the scale, highlighting the magnitude of changes rather than absolute values.
3. Capturing market response sensitivity: Returns reflect investors' immediate emotions and behavioral responses to new listings, helping to measure the impact of the initial listing exchange on price fluctuations.

4.4.2 Token Selection and Sample Determination

Data shows that both Bithumb and Coinone exhibit a certain "bridge effect." Among them, Bithumb has 57 tokens that were first listed on its platform before subsequently landing on UPbit; Coinone also shows significant performance, with as many as 41 tokens first listed on Coinone before being listed on UPbit and Bithumb, with an average listing interval of 93.6 days. The following section will take Coinone as an example to analyze its characteristics in listing pace and market linkage.

For some representative projects, such as EIGEN, ENS, and ETHFI, Coinone's layout time even precedes by more than a year. Overall, the average return performance of these tokens is superior to the overall market level, further validating Coinone's role as a "bridge" in the ecosystem—introducing potential assets early and transferring them to larger platforms with greater trading volumes and broader coverage.

This bridge effect is reflected not only in timing differences but also in return performance: tokens listed early on Coinone provide significant excess return opportunities for early participants, while subsequent entry into other mainstream exchanges creates a cross-platform price and liquidity transmission mechanism. Therefore, Coinone plays a dual role as a project incubator and asset circulation hub within the South Korean exchange ecosystem.

4.4.3 Return Time Window Analysis

From the analysis of the time distribution of price performance, the overall return performance of tokens listed on Coinone is the best. In the three observation windows of the 1st, 7th, and 30th days, Coinone's returns are higher than the overall average level for two time points, while the remaining time point is slightly below the average. In contrast, UPbit and Bithumb only outperform the average in one time point, while falling behind the overall market level in other periods.

Overall, in the short to medium term, projects listed first on Coinone and Bithumb often perform the best; however, in long-term development, UPbit demonstrates a more robust and superior average level.

• UPbit: Adopts a relatively conservative strategy in the early stages of new tokens, often listing them only after market enthusiasm has been validated. The price performance on the first day is the weakest, but due to later liquidity and a large user base advantage, the return performance on the 30th day surpasses that of others, indicating that its tokens are more likely to attract funding attention and secondary boosts later on.
• Bithumb: Its strategy relies more on market enthusiasm, with the best price performance on the first day, showing significant short-term effects, but the overall return rate subsequently declines, indicating that without ongoing maintenance and market operation support, short-term bursts are difficult to convert into long-term advantages.
• Coinone: By leveraging the premium effect of early listings, it strategically positions itself to introduce popular assets, allowing early participants to gain arbitrage opportunities when tokens are listed across platforms, while also enhancing its attractiveness to early investors. Coinone tends to take on the risks of early listings in exchange for the potential high-return token selection rights, consistently outperforming the overall average level of tokens across most time dimensions.

Based on the identified differences in token performance among exchanges, investors can formulate more targeted strategies according to their risk preferences and operational cycles:

• Short-term speculative funds: Should focus on the performance of new tokens on Bithumb on their first day, leveraging short-term market enthusiasm to capture price difference opportunities.
• Medium to long-term trend investors: Are more suited to track the performance of new tokens on UPbit 30 days post-listing, capturing later funding attention and secondary boost potential.
• Early layout dividend seekers: Should closely monitor Coinone's early listing dynamics, utilizing its first-mover advantage and bridge effect to gain premium returns during cross-platform listings.

4.4.4 Overall Performance of Returns

Statistical results indicate that tokens listed on Coinone exhibit average price performance far superior to the overall average level of all newly listed tokens, showing a general upward trend. This phenomenon suggests that these tokens, which were first listed on Coinone, not only possess strong project quality and market competitiveness but also reflect Coinone's foresight and precision in token selection. The ability to identify and introduce quality assets at an early stage is a significant manifestation of its bridging role within the South Korean exchange ecosystem.

The analysis results also provide a reference for a potential listing strategy: by choosing platforms with relative selection advantages for early listings, there is an opportunity to gain initial market attention and price performance, while also facilitating the expansion of liquidity and user coverage in subsequent larger exchanges, thus forming a complete market development path from initial exposure to long-term value accumulation.

05 Excellent Marketing Cases for Listings

The overall listing threshold on South Korean exchanges is high: not only are there strict requirements for project technical strength, compliance, and team background, but there are also high expectations for market potential, community foundation, and early user activity, resulting in a limited number of projects that can actually be listed. This means that project teams must adopt a dual approach in terms of project hard power and market promotion strategies when vying for listings on South Korean exchanges.

The following five projects have been selected for their outstanding early marketing performance and notable price trends post-listing. We have organized and analyzed their marketing characteristics to provide references for other project teams. By referencing such successful cases, project teams can strategically plan their publicity, community building, media collaboration, and early user incentives, thereby increasing the likelihood of passing reviews and achieving smooth listings.

5.1 UXLink

• Media Collaboration and Special Reports

UXLink has established collaborations with multiple blockchain media and industry research institutions, publishing special reports and technical analyses to enhance the project's market recognition. CoinDesk Korea conducted an in-depth interpretation of UXLink's cross-chain technology, enhancing technical credibility; CryptoSlate published an interview article introducing UXLink's ecological layout and token economic model; TokenPost and BlockBeats shared reports in South Korean and Asian communities, expanding market exposure and community attention.

• Ecological Expansion and Collaborative Layout

UXLink built its community on Telegram, with partners including the TON ecosystem, UOB, Arbitrum, and Animoca Brands. Through cross-chain interoperability, AMAs, and technical seminars, active users grew by 150% within three months, and daily trading volume increased by 200%, significantly enhancing liquidity and market influence while promoting the development of the decentralized finance ecosystem. Additionally, UXLink sponsored the Consensus Hong Kong conference and collaborated with BNB Chain and Meet48 to host the "AI Agent Rising" themed event in Hong Kong, further enhancing industry influence and community recognition.

• Incentive Mechanisms and User Participation

Participating in AIRDROP2049, users are incentivized to interact and engage with the community through social relationships on-chain, enhancing on-chain reputation and activity.

5.2 Mantle Network

• Media Collaboration and Special Reports

Mantle Network has systematically laid out media dissemination, collaborating with several well-known media and research institutions to publish special reports and technical analyses, significantly enhancing the project's influence in the industry. Klein Labs provided a comprehensive ecological interpretation for investors; Binance Square published an interview about Mantle Network, introducing its modular architecture and Eigen-DA data availability support, enhancing technical credibility; Messari conducted an in-depth analysis of the project, releasing a research report to boost capital attention; TokenPost and CoinNess shared reports on the project's progress in the South Korean market, expanding recognition in the Asian community.

• Community Operation and Social Media Promotion

Mantle Network actively operates social media and community platforms, building a highly engaged user base. It has over 800,000 followers on X, regularly updating project dynamics and interacting with the community; its official Telegram and Discord communities have over 200,000 members, regularly hosting AMAs and community discussion events to enhance user participation and sense of belonging. This refined community operation not only promotes information dissemination but also provides strong support for user activity and loyalty.

• Incentive Mechanisms and User Participation

Mantle Network enhances user activity and participation through incentive mechanisms. The Mantle Journey user participation plan launched in August 2025 allocates a reward pool of 20 million MNT to participating users and applications through Soulbound Token minting, incentivizing community building and ecological activity. Such incentive measures not only enhance user loyalty but also validate the economic attractiveness of the project ecosystem, effectively forming a self-reinforcing community loop.

5.3 Flock.io

• Media Collaboration and Special Reports

Flock.io has systematically laid out media dissemination, collaborating with well-known media such as Messari and Cointelegraph Korea to publish special reports and market analyses, enhancing industry influence; Klein Labs provided a comprehensive interpretation of the project ecosystem, offering investment references; TokenPost reported on its progress in the South Korean market, enhancing local market recognition.

• Ecological Expansion and Collaborative Layout

Flock.io has collaborated with Alibaba Cloud Qwen and Base to introduce centralized AI models into decentralized platforms, achieving decentralized operations for on-chain transactions and wallet management. Through the Web3 Agent model, local AI assistants ensure user privacy while jointly hosting community AMAs and technical seminars, significantly enhancing user activity and market influence, and strengthening decentralized ecological construction.

• Incentive Mechanisms and User Participation

Flock.io initiated the Qwen × Flock × Base AI hackathon, attracting participation from developers at South Korea's SKY universities and KAIST developer clubs, utilizing federated learning technology to promote innovation and practical applications of decentralized AI models, reinforcing Flock.io's technological leadership and industry influence in the decentralized AI ecosystem.

5.4 BigTime

• Media Collaboration and Special Reports

BigTime has systematically laid out media dissemination, collaborating with CoinDesk Korea, CryptoSlate, TokenPost, and other well-known media to publish special reports and project ecosystem analyses, enhancing industry influence; Messari conducted an in-depth interpretation of its game economic model and token incentive mechanisms, providing references for investors; BlockBeats reported on BigTime's community activities in the Asian market, enhancing local market recognition.

• Community Forum Viral Marketing

BigTime employs viral marketing strategies through community forums, Twitter, and Discord, activating player interaction and information dissemination. By implementing game team mechanisms and invitation code systems, players are encouraged to actively invite new users, rapidly expanding the community size while enhancing user stickiness and brand influence.

• Incentive Mechanisms and User Participation

BigTime requires player participation through invitation codes, creating a short-term "hard-to-get code" craze, significantly boosting community activity and reflecting market demand. The project also offers multiple incentive measures such as free game OTC, voice channel support, daily NFT drop rate sharing, and advanced dungeon sharing, effectively enhancing user participation and community activity.

5.5 Sign

• Media Collaboration and Special Reports

Sign has systematically laid out media dissemination, collaborating with Tiger Research, CoinDesk Korea, CryptoSlate, and other well-known media and research institutions to publish special reports and technical analyses, enhancing industry recognition and capital attention; TokenPost and BlockBeats shared reports, expanding the project's exposure and influence in South Korea and Asia.

• Community Forum and Viral Marketing

Sign utilizes cultural symbols to build a strong sense of identity and belonging, successfully cultivating a self-sustaining community of over 50,000 members. The community exhibits high loyalty, with some core members even tattooing the Sign logo on their bodies, reflecting the project's profound cultural influence and social dissemination effects.

• Incentive Mechanisms and User Participation

Sign encourages user interaction and content sharing through on-chain tasks, airdrop rewards, and a fair incentive system based on Soulbound Tokens (SBT); high community incentive ratios combined with a diversified product matrix effectively penetrate the on-chain trust and distribution infrastructure market, driving the vigorous development and ecological self-reinforcement of the "Orange Dynasty" community.

These cases fully demonstrate that through systematic and multi-dimensional marketing strategies, projects not only gain capital attention and user recognition but also successfully enter the strictly regulated and limited South Korean exchange market. This indicates that both project strength and market recognition have reached high standards, providing other project teams with valuable successful experiences and reference examples.

06 Conclusion

In the global cryptocurrency landscape, the uniqueness and activity of the South Korean market provide project teams with highly valuable reference samples. Data indicates that the resonance between policy and market sentiment significantly influences the pace of listings; fluctuations in BTC prices not only affect investor confidence but also subtly change the listing strategies of exchanges. This dual-driven mechanism of market and policy reminds project teams that when formulating global issuance plans, they must incorporate macro trends and regulatory dynamics into their decision-making frameworks.

Moreover, it is noteworthy that the "listing bridge effect" prominently reflected by Coinone—where its early listings often signal attention and follow-up from other mainstream exchanges—not only brings secondary liquidity but also amplifies the project's market volume. This suggests that, in the face of limited resources, precisely selecting entry platforms may leverage market dynamics more effectively than blindly pursuing larger platforms.

However, the experiences from the South Korean market cannot simply be replicated. The user profiles, community cultures, listing review mechanisms, and localized promotional resources of different exchanges all determine the success or failure of projects in this market. For project teams seeking international layouts, true competitiveness lies in their ability to deeply integrate data analysis, market judgment, and localized execution, presenting themselves on the most suitable platforms with the most fitting strategies at the right time.

The cryptocurrency market is ever-changing, but the underlying patterns have never disappeared. The South Korean case teaches us that a project's success depends not only on technology and ideas but also on a precise grasp of the market's microstructure and emotional fluctuations. In the future, facing such a stage, can project teams seize short-term dividends while laying the groundwork for long-term value? The answer depends on every strategic choice they make before taking that first step.
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