Bitcoin
Frantic Crypto Trading in South Korea Sets Stage for Bitcoin Record
(Bloomberg) — South Korean retail investors were piling into local digital asset exchanges in greater numbers well ahead of the global cryptocurrency boom that drove prices to record levels in early 2024.
Bloomberg’s Most Read
Active users of registered exchanges in the country increased by 390,000 to 6.45 million by the end of 2023, according to the biannual report on cryptoasset business published by the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KOFIU).
Of these users, who represent more than 10% of the country’s total population, 99% identified themselves as “individual” investors and almost 60% of them were between 30 and 40 years old. The country’s average daily crypto trading volume grew 24% to 3.6 trillion won ($2.6 billion) over the period, while the total value of crypto held by registered exchanges rose 53% to 43.6 trillion won.
The report underscores how vital South Korea has become as a growth body in global crypto markets. The South Korean won was the most traded currency against cryptocurrencies globally in the first quarter of 2024, surpassing the US dollar. Upbit, the country’s dominant exchange, has at times ranked among the world’s top five in trading volume.
Read more: Upbit takes Korea’s crypto boom to top five global exchanges
“Trading volume, market capitalization, operating profit of exchanges and Korean won deposits increased compared with the first half due to rising cryptocurrency prices and recovery in investor sentiment,” KOFIU said in a statement . “The number of crypto trading users has recovered since the first half of 2023,” the institution added.
Even after the collapse of TerraUSD, the ill-fated stablecoin created by South Korean native Do Kwon, crypto enthusiasm in the country is such that a major political party pledged to grant Koreans access to US Bitcoin ETFs during last month’s parliamentary elections .
Starting in July, South Korean regulators will introduce the Virtual Asset User Protection Law, imposing strict new requirements on exchanges and tougher punishments for wrongdoing in the sector.
Bloomberg Businessweek Most Read
©2024 Bloomberg LP