BIO Surges 58% After Upbit Listing as DeSci Tokens Stage Major Comeback

Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has announced that it will list BIO Protocol’s native token BIO today.

Following the news, the altcoin surged over 58%. Moreover, the trading volume rose more than 500% as investors flocked to BIO.

Upbit Listing Triggers BIO Rally

In the official notice, Upbit highlighted that BIO trading will start at 18:00 Korean Standard Time (KST). The altcoin will be available to trade against three pairs: the Korean Won (KRW), Bitcoin (BTC), and Tether (USDT).

“Deposits and withdrawals are supported only through the specified network (BIO-Ethereum). Always verify the network before depositing. The contract address for BIO supported on Upbit is 0xcb1592591996765ec0efc1f92599a19767ee5ffa,” Upbit added.

The exchange also noted that it will apply short-term trading restrictions. For the first five minutes after trading opens, traders will not be able to place buy orders, and sell orders priced more than 10% below the previous day’s closing value will be blocked.

During the first two hours, only limit orders will be accepted, while other types will be disabled. These temporary measures are meant to reduce volatility and ensure a fair, controlled start to BIO trading.

Notably, Upbit’s listing announcement caused BIO to surge from $0.086 to $0.136, a 58% value increase. The token shed some of its gains to settle at a press time value of $0.111, up over 30% since the announcement.

BIO Price Performance Post Upbit Listing Announcement. Source: TradingView

Furthermore, BIO’s daily trading volume topped $134 million, marking a 532% spike. The latest pump marks a strong rebound after BIO cooled off from its record rally in August.

Importantly, the rally wasn’t limited to BIO. Over the past 24 hours, the entire DeSci market has recorded a significant uptick. According to CoinGecko data, the market cap climbed to $820 million, representing an 11.5% appreciation.

“Everyone knows what an Upbit listing can do by now. But have you ever seen a single Upbit listing send an entire category? Just when you think DeSci is dead, BIO comes out and single-handedly runs it back,” Simon Dedic remarked.

Although the broader crypto market was also up, the DeSci sector’s gains still outpaced those seen in meme coins, privacy coins, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), DePIN projects, and other categories. DeSci tokens, such as VitaDAO (VITA), Curetopia (CURES), Pinealon (PNL), and more, all notched double-digit gains, highlighting a revival in momentum.