South Korean authorities are looking to introduce new regulations aimed at curbing sharp spikes in cryptocurrency prices immediately after listing as investor losses mount.

The phenomenon, also referred to as “listing beam,” is where a newly listed coin‘s price skyrockets like a laser beam right after it becomes available for trading.

According to sources from the crypto industry on Tuesday, the financial authorities are pushing to introduce a “listing beam breaker,” which would temporarily restrict trading of specific cryptocurrencies if their prices surge dramatically after listing.

This cool-down system is intended to suppress speculative demand by halting trading in coins that experience extreme price volatility.

Unlike stock market-wide mechanisms such as the sidecar or circuit breaker, this would apply only to individual coins showing abnormal fluctuations.

Authorities are also considering a rule where, if a coin‘s price skyrockets on one exchange and diverges significantly from its price on other exchanges, only the trading on that specific exchange would be restricted.

Major coins such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are expected to be excluded as the measures under consideration target only coins that are vulnerable to price manipulation.

“We are reviewing measures such as restricting trading of specific coins in order to protect investors,” said an official from the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

It is not uncommon for coin prices to fluctuate sharply after listing in Korea‘s crypto market.

For example, Movement Coin, which was listed on Coinone in December 2024 at 215 won ($0.15), soared to 998,500 won in just three minutes - a 46,000-fold increase - before crashing to 10,000 won five minutes later and further dropping to 800 won within two hours.

At the time, the same coin was trading at about $0.45 on overseas exchanges.

Industry experts attribute this to the limited initial coin supply and high investor expectations immediately after listing.

Market manipulation fueled by excess domestic liquidity and scarce coin availability during the early listing phase is also cited as a contributing factor.

However, there are concerns about the proposed regulation.

Some in the industry warned that suspending trading on only one exchange could unfairly harm users of that specific platform.

They stressed the importance of clearly defining the criteria and scope of these restrictions to minimize harm to ordinary investors.

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