South Korea’s Cryptocurrency Surge: 6 Million Investors and the Growth of Centralized Exchanges (Study)

In recent years, South Korea has become a significant center for cryptocurrency investment, as indicated by a recent survey, with six million crypto investors constituting over 10% of the nation’s total population.

This trend has transformed the financial environment and underscored the prevalence of centralized exchanges within the Korean crypto sector.

A Closer Look at Korean Exchanges

A survey by the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) estimates that the number of crypto investors in the nation will approach around six million in the first half of 2024, representing more than 10% of the overall population.

The majority of these investors primarily focus on investment activities involving centralized exchanges.

South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges have shown resilience despite a global downturn in trading volume since March. Market fluctuations have diminished, with Bitcoin remaining within a relatively stable range of $27K to $28K for six months.

After reaching a peak of $45 billion in February, Korean exchanges saw a decline to $23 billion in May but recovered to $37 billion in July, surpassing Binance.

These exchanges have sustained trading volumes at about 10% compared to Binance and have even outperformed Coinbase, highlighting their increasing impact in the global market.

The leading entity in the Korean crypto market is Upbit, which achieved its highest trading volume of $36 billion in February, representing roughly 80% of the Korean crypto exchange market.

Bithumb, the second-largest exchange, holds a robust position with a market share ranging from 15% to 20%. The market shares of Coinone and Korbit are comparatively modest.

Korean Investors Favor Altcoins, Loom Network Leads

Korean investors exhibit specific preferences regarding cryptocurrencies. Loom Network (LOOM) achieved the highest trading volume among Korean investors, with a ratio of 62%, followed by eCash (XEC) at 55% and Flow (FLOW) at 43%.

Stacks (STX) and Bitcoin SV (BSV) also appeared on the list with ratios of 37% and 34%, respectively. This indicates a tendency towards altcoins rather than mainstream coins among Korean investors.

While trading volumes for BTC and ETH on Upbit represent a small fraction of the total, Coinbase, a prominent U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, commands a significant share of volume in these cryptocurrencies.

This points to differing investment approaches across markets, with Upbit’s investors showing a strong interest in altcoins with high-profit potential, whereas Coinbase’s institutional investors focus on portfolio stability.

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