Trump family’s crypto listed in South Korea

World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance project led by the Trump family, had its WLFI governance token and USD1 stablecoin listed by major Korean cryptocurrency exchanges.

Upbit and Bithumb began trading WLFI at 10 p.m. on September 1, 2025 with Coinone following at 11 a.m. on September 2, 2025.

Trading for the USD1 stablecoin began on Upbit and Bithumb at 4 p.m. September 1, 2025.

Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump are co-founders and executives of the project, while Donald Trump holds an honorary co-founder title.

The family reportedly owns about 25% of the WLFI token supply, with estimates valuing their holdings around US$5 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

🔗 Source: The Korea Times

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Celebrity crypto tokens follow predictable patterns of initial hype followed by losses

Research on celebrity-endorsed cryptocurrencies shows a consistent pattern of initial hype followed by significant losses.

A Harvard Business School study analyzing 36,000 tweets from crypto influencers found that celebrity-promoted coins delivered an average 1.83% return on the first day, but investors faced average losses of 19% after three months1.

This pattern occurs because celebrity tokens often operate through “pump-and-dump” schemes where insiders profit at the expense of retail investors, with centralized token structures enabling rapid price manipulation2.

WLFI’s 20% drop from its listing price within two days aligns with this historical trend, despite the significant attention generated by the Trump family’s involvement.

The token’s performance highlights that even high-profile political celebrity endorsements cannot overcome the fundamental structural issues that often affect celebrity-backed cryptocurrencies.

2️⃣ South Korea offers uniquely fertile ground for cryptocurrency adoption

The Trump family’s strategic focus on South Korea aligns with the country’s exceptional cryptocurrency adoption rates.

Over 16 million South Koreans—representing 32% of the population—now hold cryptocurrency accounts, a figure that surpasses traditional stock investors for the first time3.