Key facts
- Daily average crypto trading volume at South Korea's five major exchanges was 597.8 billion won ($406.5 million) from July 1-16.
- This crypto volume is 1.59% of the KOSPI market's daily average trading volume of 37.6 trillion won.
- Crypto trading volume's share relative to KOSPI fell from 11.29% in January to about 2% in May.
- Upbit and Bithumb accounted for over 90% of the domestic crypto trading volume.
- Factors contributing to the decline include falling Bitcoin prices and a rally in semiconductor stocks.
Trading volume on South Korea's major cryptocurrency exchanges has significantly decreased, now representing only about 1% of the trading volume on the benchmark KOSPI stock index. Data from CoinGecko indicates that the daily average trading volume across the five largest exchanges—Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax—amounted to 597.8 billion won (US$406.5 million) between July 1 and July 16. This figure is substantially lower than the KOSPI's daily average trading volume of 37.6 trillion won during the same period.
The share of crypto trading volume relative to the KOSPI market has seen a steep decline, falling from 11.29% in January to approximately 6% in March and April, and further down to around 2% in May. This trend contrasts sharply with November 2024, when anticipation of crypto-friendly policies from U.S. President Donald Trump's second administration pushed crypto trading volume as high as 21 trillion won.
Market watchers attribute this downturn to several factors, including tumbling Bitcoin prices and a strong rally in the stock market, particularly in semiconductor stocks. The concentration of investment in altcoins, a unique characteristic of the South Korean market, and the availability of diverse investment methods like futures and leverage on overseas exchanges such as Binance, are also cited as reasons for the outflow of funds from domestic crypto platforms.