SORAN is a quick digest of what Korean Telegram communities are talking about right now.
TOP STORY
Base Memecoin Frenzy, Overheated Rooms Centered on BaseCat
Base chain memecoin rooms are completely heating up. BaseCat surged 1,100%+ to hit a $20M market cap, drawing attention from Cobie, Coinbase exec Shan Aggarwal, and the official BaseApp account. Follow-up memecoins like BinanceCat, Basedog, and ASTEROID rallied in sequence, with microcap plays delivering 140x and 39x gains according to whale chatter. However, the growing caution that 'when Cobie follows, top is in' is triggering sharp rallies followed by crashes.
Base's official push is losing credibility as community starts reading official attention as a top signal. Rapid rallies followed by sharp dumps repeat—entry and exit timing are critical.
Pokémon Card Physical Mania Expands to On-Chain Betting and NFTs
The Pokémon card physical craze is heating up in community. Stellar Crown cards sold out and opened second-wave pre-orders, with in-store lines at Lotte World Mall Jamsil exceeding 100 hours and per-pack pricing hitting 500k+ won. Polymarket opened a Pokémon card price betting market, and Pudgy Penguins is running a collab, marking expansion into TCG monetization paired with NFTs.
RWA and Tokenized Assets Accelerate, Ethereum Dominates Share
Institutional inflows continue in RWA and tokenized assets. The RWA market grew 2,228% over 3 years to $44.7B, with Ethereum's $23.3B issuance holding the #1 share. Stock token futures volume jumped 17x from $15B in April to $250B in July, with 76% concentrated on Binance and AI/semiconductor names. Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs saw their largest inflow since April at $1.1B.
BitMart Operations Halted, Withdrawal Delays and Payroll Issues Surge
Exchange risk talk is making community nervous. BitMart halted operations followed by withdrawal delays and employee payroll issues; rumors circulate of the founder's passport pinned on the official X account. The founder is instead threatening to report employees to police. SafePal disclosed a breach of personal data for 39,798 customers, and post-MiCA fraud impersonating legitimate exchanges is rising. ↗ x.com
Airdrop Payout Controversy and August New Listings/Farming Rush
Airdrop and new listing farming is split between hopeful and skeptical. Optimism faced backlash for redirecting 546.9M $OP from user airdrops to ecosystem funds, and Tria promised travel credits from August 1 but drew complaints of zero actual claims after 1+ week. Aligned airdrop values ranged 150k to 1.5M won. Meanwhile, new farming opportunities keep rolling: DGAI (8/17), FOLD (8/19), PROPR (8/24), TermMax (8/25) plus 2M TMX distribution, OKX Outcomes Season 2, and Axis Robotics x Kaito rumors.
Hyperliquid Regulatory Risk, HYPE Faces $60 Resistance
Hyperliquid community grapples with heavy regulatory risk. Wintermute CEO flagged U.S. regulation as a long-term issue, raising KYC/AML adoption necessity debates. Spot trading influence is declining while memecoins stay active. Technical analysis shows HYPE facing resistance in the $59-60 band. ↗ x.com
New Wallet Farming Strategy Ahead of Next Year's Crypto Taxation
Some community members are reworking farming strategies around incoming domestic crypto taxation. With taxation launching next year, advice circulates to settle existing positions this year and start airdrop farming (RiseX, Entropy, etc.) from a fresh wallet. The logic: a clean wallet makes transaction history management easier.
Tapeout Hardware NFT Mining Ecosystem Formation
Tapeout hardware NFT mining chatter is circulating quietly. It's a micro-scale hardware mining ecosystem where users design chips using NAND and wrench components to convert into NFTs, already trading at 4-6x minting price. Mining reward token launch is still TBD, so users are prepping components and waiting. Design difficulty is high, limiting new entrants.
Robinhood Chain The Oil Rigs NFT Mint, Token Utility Promised
The Saudis' Oil Rigs NFT minting on Robinhood Chain warrants careful review. The team minted 5,555 limited NFTs on August 18, promising Rig holders will later receive $USO and $OIL token utility. However, tokens haven't launched and utilities remain at the planning stage, leaving substantial uncertainty between minting floor and eventual token launch.