Upbit to Add BTC and USDT Trading Pairs for KMNO, MORPHO, and More

Jun 19, 2026

Upbit to Add BTC and USDT Trading Pairs for KMNO, MORPHO, and More

Upbit has announced an expansion of its BTC and USDT markets, adding new trading pairs for PEAQ, LIT, KMNO, MORPHO, GRAM, LDO, PAXG, OSMO, and AMP on June 19. For traders, this kind of market-structure update matters more than it may look at first glance: new quote-currency pairs can change liquidity routing, widen global access, and reshape short-term volatility dynamics—especially when the assets span multiple narratives like DeFi lending, liquid staking, tokenized gold, and Cosmos ecosystem assets.

For reference, users can follow Upbit’s updates via the Upbit Notice Center, and review how Upbit differentiates between KRW, BTC, and USDT markets in its official help article.

What exactly is changing?

Upbit is adding BTC and USDT trading pairs for the following assets:

PEAQ
LIT
KMNO
MORPHO
GRAM
LDO
PAXG
OSMO
AMP

Even if an asset is already well-known globally, the addition of BTC and USDT markets can materially affect:

Accessibility for non-KRW flows: USDT pairs often become the “default” route for many traders who benchmark performance in dollars.
Liquidity topology: BTC pairs attract a different type of market maker and arbitrage flow compared with USDT pairs.
Cross-exchange price discovery: more venues quoting in USDT can tighten spreads—or amplify volatility during listing-driven bursts.

Why BTC and USDT pairs matter (beyond “more pairs”)

Many users interpret new trading pairs as a simple “listing bump.” In practice, BTC and USDT markets influence execution quality in different ways:

USDT pairs typically help align local pricing with broader global markets, since USDT remains a dominant unit of account across centralized exchanges.
BTC pairs can be meaningful when BTC dominance is high and traders rotate capital via BTC rather than stablecoins.

Upbit also notes that quote currency affects how prices are formed in each market (BTC-priced assets vs USDT-priced assets). If you actively trade multiple quote currencies, it’s worth revisiting Upbit’s explanation of market mechanics in the KRW / BTC / USDT market guide.

A quick narrative map: what these assets represent in 2026

This batch is notable because it mixes several of the most traded crypto themes: onchain credit markets, liquid staking governance, tokenized real-world assets, and app-chain ecosystems.

DeFi lending and onchain credit: MORPHO, KMNO

Morpho (MORPHO) sits in the “modular lending” conversation—where protocols compete on risk frameworks, market creation, and capital efficiency. If you want the most direct description of the token’s role, Morpho’s documentation is a good starting point via The MORPHO token.
Kamino (KMNO) is widely associated with Solana DeFi and automated liquidity / lending strategy design. For a high-level overview, see Kamino Finance (KMNO) on CoinMarketCap.

User concern to watch: lending tokens can react sharply to changes in collateral listings, risk parameters, and emissions schedules. New trading pairs often increase liquidity, but they also make it easier for leveraged participants to express a view quickly—both directions.

Liquid staking governance: LDO

Lido DAO (LDO) remains one of the most recognized governance tokens in liquid staking. Lido’s own documentation explains how governance works and what decisions are controlled by tokenholders in Lido DAO docs.

User concern to watch: governance tokens are sensitive to policy and risk headlines (staking yield changes, validator set discussions, and broader Ethereum staking dynamics).

Tokenized gold (RWA): PAXG

Pax Gold (PAXG) is among the most established “gold onchain” representations. Paxos describes PAXG’s backing and custody model on its official page, Pax Gold (PAXG).

User concern to watch: tokenized commodities are not purely “crypto beta.” They can react to macro risk (rates, USD strength, geopolitical hedging demand) differently from the rest of the market.