FSS forms task force to revise listing standards for meme coins

The Financial Supervisory Service, along with the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA) and virtual asset exchanges, formed a 'Task Force for Revising the Model Cases for Virtual Asset Transaction Support (Listing)' and held their first meeting on the 7th.

Financial authorities are set to reinforce the review standards for new coin listings with virtual asset exchanges, amid the persistent controversy over the listing of meme coins, such as 'Official Trump,' and the rapid price fluctuations immediately after the listing.

According to the virtual asset industry on the 9th, the Financial Supervisory Service, along with the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA) and virtual asset exchanges, formed a 'Task Force for Revising the Model Cases for Virtual Asset Transaction Support (Listing)' and held their first meeting on the 7th.

An industry official noted, "A meeting was held to review the operations of the virtual asset transaction support model case so far and to complement and revise the model case in response to recent issues such as the rise of meme coins and the “listing beam” (the sharp price increase after the listing of a new virtual asset)."

The task force will hold regular meetings every 1 to 2 weeks to reflect industry opinions and specifically improve related standards.

"It is expected that the listing and maintenance of meme coins will become stricter, and additional criteria, such as the need to secure some liquidity at the time of listing, will be added," the official added.

Previously, financial authorities and exchanges announced and implemented a 'Model Case for Virtual Asset Transaction Support' that includes the review process for supporting virtual asset transactions, termination, and information disclosure, in line with the implementation of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act last July.

Accordingly, to support the transaction of new virtual assets, it is required to meet conditions such as the credibility of the issuing entity, user protection measures, technology and security, and compliance with legal regulations.

However, virtual asset exchanges have been criticized for hastily listing meme coins with no special use cases, such as 'Official Trump,' issued by U.S. President Donald Trump's team, neglecting investor protection.

The issue of the listing beam, where prices rapidly fluctuate immediately after the listing of virtual assets, is also a problem.

'Movement' coin, which experienced sharp price fluctuations immediately after the listing last year, was a representative example.

'Movement' was listed at a standard price of 215.3 won on Coinone at 8 p.m. on Dec. 9, soaring to 999,850 won by 8:41 p.m., marking a 46,000-fold increase. It then plummeted to the 5,400 won range just 16 minutes later.

The price fluctuations occurred because it was hastily listed without securing sufficient volume in the early stages of the listing, resulting in only small transactions.

The Financial Supervisory Service has guided exchanges to prevent recurrences related to this matter.

Previously, the background of Coinone's decision to proceed with the listing of Movement was verified, and they requested the industry to be cautious to prevent a recurrence of the same situation. Recently, they conveyed concerns to exchanges stating that they should conduct their listing reviews carefully in relation to the listing of Official Trump.

A financial authority official said, "Since it has been six months since the model case has been implemented, we will seek ways to improve various issues raised during that process."