South Korea’s crypto market was worth 23 trillion won (about US$16.1 billion) in the first half of 2022, down 58% from 55.2 trillion won in the six-month period at the end of last year, according to data from the Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU).
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Fast facts
- The daily trading volume also fell 53% compared to the preceding six-month period, to an average of 5.3 trillion won (around US$3.7 billion).
- The total operating profit of virtual asset service providers in South Korea was down 62%, falling from 1.64 trillion (about US$1.1 billion) to 0.63 trillion won (about US$441 million).
- The KoFIU cites the war in Ukraine, rising interest rates, drop in liquidity and a lack of trust in crypto following the Terra-LUNA crisis as factors that influenced the general decline in the local crypto market.
- However, the number of know-your-customer (KYC) registered users saw a 24% increase, growing from 5.58 million to 6.9 million in Korea’s total population of 51.78 million.
- About 73% of the 6.9 million registered users own crypto worth one million Korean won (US$700.57) or less.
- KoFIU, under the Financial Services Commission (FSC), is a national agency that works to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing and increasing transparency in financial transaction.
- (Corrects total market capitalization in six-months at end of last year.)
See related article: South Korea unlikely to push out crypto regulation before the U.S., authority says
