Korea’s New Altcoin Craze: $USELESS Gains Momentum

Meet Korea’s latest altcoin obsession: $USELESS.

South Korea has long played an outsized role in the altcoin markets, from last year’s explosive 400% rally in XRP to the current buzz around a token that proudly brands itself as USELESS.

According to Bradley Park, an analyst at Seoul-based DNTV Research, the $USELESS phenomenon has strong ties to influential Korean crypto figures known as KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders).

At the center is Yeomyung, a prominent Korean trader and liquidity provider who jumped into $USELESS early, enduring a steep 50% drawdown but now sitting on significant paper profits.

“He made good money during the Trump coin rally, and with USELESS, he’s benefited from providing liquidity early on and is currently holding his position,” Park told CoinDesk. “Everyone’s waiting for a centralized exchange (CEX) listing, because without it, there’s no real exit strategy.”

Park has tracked Yeomyung’s wallet activity and said his early conviction has inspired copy-trading among Korean retail investors. Even wallets linked to insiders from Solana’s Jupiter ecosystem are reportedly holding $USELESS, reflecting shifting dynamics in Korean crypto trading behavior.

“I genuinely believe Korean traders are no longer simply exit liquidity,” Park said. “They’re evolving into true global market players.”

Another figure in the story is “Bonk Guy,” a crypto influencer who gained notoriety promoting BONK. He recently resurfaced to promote $USELESS after its price recovery, although Park and others remain skeptical about his renewed enthusiasm.

“Bonk Guy was the first to promote LetsBONK,” Park said. “But after prices crashed, he went quiet. Now that $USELESS is bouncing back, he’s suddenly interested again.”

Park pointed to the rise of projects like Hyperliquid, Kaia, and now Solana-based meme coins like $USELESS as evidence that Korea is no longer a secondary market but increasingly central to global crypto narratives.

Unlike XRP, which was fueled by legal developments in the U.S. and regulatory optimism tied to Trump-era policies, $USELESS represents a different vibe. It’s less about chaos and more a signal of where market attention—and perhaps fatigue—is shifting, Park noted.

With no roadmap, utility, or grand promises, $USELESS embodies a form of ironic disillusionment—a community shrugging at traditional crypto narratives and instead placing a tongue-in-cheek bet on a coin whose name admits it’s worth nothing. Yet paradoxically, that honesty may make it more appealing than tokens claiming to transform the world.

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Trump Pushes GENIUS Act

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday voiced strong support for the GENIUS Act on Truth Social after its bipartisan passage in the U.S. Senate, calling it a critical step toward securing American leadership in digital assets.

Trump urged the House to pass the legislation “lightning fast” and without amendments, stressing that it should go to his desk without delay or additional riders.

The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act introduces reserve and compliance requirements for U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin issuers and is the first significant crypto bill to clear the Senate.

Trump framed the measure as crucial for attracting “massive investment” and fostering “big innovation,” positioning the U.S. as a leader in the digital asset sector.

Despite significant bipartisan support, the bill faces potential obstacles in the House, where some Democratic lawmakers are considering amendments, including tighter oversight of foreign-issued tokens and restrictions on who can issue stablecoins.

Critics remain wary. In a recent CoinDesk editorial, Georgetown finance professor James J. Angel argued that the GENIUS Act is flawed, citing fragmented oversight among 55 regulators, redundant regulatory processes, the exclusion of interest-bearing stablecoins, and inefficiencies in joint rulemaking.

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Coinbase Unveils Merchant Payments Solution

Coinbase (COIN) has launched Coinbase Payments, a new merchant payment platform built on its Ethereum layer-2 network, Base, as CoinDesk previously reported.

The platform enables global e-commerce giants like Shopify to accept USDC stablecoin payments 24/7, without merchants needing direct blockchain expertise. It features gasless checkouts, an API for ecommerce integrations, and an on-chain payments protocol.

Coinbase says the service aims to replicate traditional payment rails while reducing costs and enabling instant settlement. The move positions Coinbase as a competitor to fintech leaders like Stripe and PayPal in the race to modernize payments via blockchain.

The launch also strengthens Coinbase’s ties with USDC issuer Circle (CRCL). Following the announcement, Circle’s shares surged 25%, while Coinbase’s stock gained 16%. Coinbase reported that stablecoins processed $30 trillion in transactions last year—triple the volume of the previous year—and is betting that programmable dollar-based payments will continue reshaping the global financial ecosystem.

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Market Snapshot

• BTC: Bitcoin bounced back above $105,000 in a sharp recovery, even amid escalating Israel-Iran tensions. CoinDesk Research pointed to robust ETF inflows and critical support around $103,650 as evidence of institutional confidence.
• ETH: Ethereum climbed 4% to hold above $2,500 despite geopolitical volatility, with record staking levels and ongoing accumulation signaling strong investor conviction.
• Gold: Gold slipped 0.19% to $3,383.11 after the Fed left rates unchanged at 4.25–4.5%. Fed Chair Powell indicated no imminent policy changes, despite global trade uncertainties.
• Nikkei 225: Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged 0.27% lower Thursday as Asia-Pacific markets remained mixed amid Fed caution and Middle East tensions.
• S&P 500: The S&P 500 dipped slightly by 0.03% to 5,980.87 following the Fed’s rate decision, as investors adopted a wait-and-see stance amid uncertainty over Trump’s trade policies.