At the beginning of September 2025, at the Upbit D Conference (UDC), Eric Trump brought cryptocurrencies back to the forefront of international debate, describing them as an infrastructure capable of making payments more transparent and faster.
During his speech, he also pointed to South Korea as one of the global epicenters of adoption and development in the sector.
Contextual signals and risks associated with the retail and institutional use of crypto were also highlighted by international bodies such as the Bank for International Settlements.
According to the data collected by our editorial team, which followed the live broadcast and monitored the markets in the following hours, the intervention attracted attention on social channels and Asian trading platforms.
Industry analysts consulted observe that the combination of mature exchanges, local wallets, and an active retail base makes South Korea a useful laboratory for testing new digital financial products.
These considerations are based on direct monitoring of spot volumes and public announcements from exchanges in the days following the event, including the recent listing of new crypto on Upbit.
In brief
- UDC 2025: virtual intervention by Eric Trump on Bitcoin and digital finance.
- South Korea: evolving regulatory framework and significant trading volumes, with signals from exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb.
- Markets: between wealth estimates linked to WLFI/ABTC and volatility at listing.
Trump’s Message to UDC 2025
In his speech, Trump presented cryptocurrencies as a structural change for the payment infrastructure, contrasting them with a traditional system considered inefficient in terms of cost and time. That said, the key points are:
- Bitcoin as a potential reserve asset in contexts marked by high inflation or limited banking access, a thesis already explored in several articles such as Bitcoin in the spotlight: analysis of the retracement of the bull market.
- Recognition of South Korean leadership in terms of retail passion, infrastructure, and innovation.
- A warning to regulators: delays in the adoption of digital technologies could result in a loss of economic and technological competitiveness.
South Korea, data and regulations: why it is a hub of adoption
South Korea is recognized as a vibrant market for crypto due to a mix of regulation, infrastructure, and strong domestic demand.
Of particular note is the regulatory framework: the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, effective from July 19, 2024, introduced user protection requirements and increased obligations for exchanges. Additionally, the market boasts established local platforms, with spot volumes among the highest in the Asia-Pacific region (industry sources: CCData/Kaiko).
In this context, the strong public involvement in trading operations and the dynamism of local listings highlight notable liquidity and faster enthusiasm cycles compared to other markets, as demonstrated by recent data on Bithumb.
WLFI, ABTC and the estimated wealth of the Trump family
Trump’s remarks come at a time when activities related to his family have gained visibility. According to an industry estimate, the combination of World Liberty Financial (WLFI) and American Bitcoin Corp (ABTC) would have contributed to increasing the family wealth by about 1.3 billion dollars as reported by CryptoNews, although it remains an estimate not supported by official company filings.
On the market front, Reuters reports that the WLFI token experienced a decline on its first day of trading, September 1, 2025. Subsequently, the project announced stabilization initiatives, including a token burn aimed at reducing the circulating supply.
Additionally, WLFI has been at the center of some negative market dynamics, as analyzed in various articles, for example, WLFI less than two hours after launch: 27 billion immediately in circulation.
Bitcoin at one million: scenario or slogan? The factors to watch
Trump has revived the hypothesis of very ambitious targets for Bitcoin. Achieving extreme valuations will depend on interdependent variables, such as:
- Institutional adoption: the entry of managers and banks into spot vehicles and regulated custody, a widely documented phenomenon, see for example Bitcoin: Strategy buys even at highs.
- Regulation: the need for clarity on AML, taxation, and market oversight.
- Macroeconomic factors: inflation, real rates, and flows towards assets considered safe haven.
- Supply: post-halving dynamics and remaining circulating availability.
Independent voices call for caution. The Bank for International Settlements has repeatedly highlighted the risks of volatility, leverage, and interconnections with traditional finance, emphasizing that the use of Bitcoin as a means of payment remains limited in many countries.
Indeed, some analysts point out that the tokenization of assets and regulated stablecoins could have a more immediate impact on payments compared to the price trend of Bitcoin, a concept explored in Tokenization of RWAs: Innovation in Portfolio Management.
Payments and Digital Finance: Where Crypto Beats Traditional Networks
Blockchain technologies promise greater efficiency in operations, as demonstrated by some elements that are particularly competitive today:
- Faster and traceable cross-border transactions, with a reduction in intermediaries.
- Financial inclusion: access to services in contexts with low banking penetration.
- Tokenization of real assets, which benefits from more transparent on-chain ownership regulations and standards.
The comparison with traditional channels is particularly evident in the remittance sector: global average costs remain high, standing at around 6.3% per transaction (World Bank data, 2024) as highlighted by the World Bank – Remittance Prices Worldwide.
That said, digital solutions could ensure both significant economic savings and greater transparency and speed, topics also covered in the recent report on crypto and digital payments in New York.
Regulatory Delays and Impact on Competitiveness
In markets that slow down the adoption of digital technologies, potential effects of competitive lag are observed, including:
- Less attractiveness for technological investments and specialized talents.
- Delays in the integration between AI, digital finance, and payment infrastructures, a sector where operators like Binance are revolutionizing payments in Brazil.
- Greater dependence on international standards and consequent loss of technological sovereignty.
Bitcoin and Financial Freedom: The Social Narrative
In a more identity-focused note, Trump emphasized the role of Bitcoin as a useful tool to protect savings in contexts of economic fragility.
In this context, decentralization is presented as a lever of resilience for individuals exposed to political or monetary instability, a narrative that intertwines price, utility, and economic rights, as discussed in some in-depth articles on Bitcoin and economic freedom.
Conclusions
The UDC 2025 has reiterated the importance of developing new infrastructures for payments and capital markets. South Korea strengthens its position thanks to more stringent regulations for user protection and an increasingly vibrant exchange ecosystem.
It should be noted that the most extreme projections regarding Bitcoin remain controversial and depend on concrete conditions related to adoption, regulation, and macroeconomic factors.
Meanwhile, tokenization, stablecoins, and crypto rails solutions for payments continue to drive a gradual but tangible change in the financial landscape, with initiatives from players like Binance and Crypto.com among the protagonists.
Notes and sources
- UDC 2025: virtual intervention by Eric Trump (official transcript not published at the time of writing; update in progress).
- Estimated wealth increase of $1.3 billion: CryptoNews; no public filings confirm the figure.
- WLFI: decline at debut on September 1, 2025, source: Reuters. Announcements on token burn measures for reducing the circulating supply have been communicated by the project (data to be verified through an official source).
- South Korea – The Virtual Asset User Protection Act has been in effect since July 19, 2024, according to the Financial Services Commission.
- Volumes and adoption: industry data and analysis (CCData/Kaiko; Chainalysis reports on global adoption – [data to be verified with the most recent report]).
- Remittances: global average cost defined by the World Bank – Remittance Prices Worldwide.
- BIS: assessments on the risks related to volatility and the use of Bitcoin as a means of payment, as highlighted by the Bank for International Settlements.