South Korea's Financial Services Commission: Crypto Asset Users Reach 6.45 Million, with 70% Investing Less Than $800

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of South Korea has released the survey results for the domestic cryptocurrency market in the second half of 2023. The survey covered 29 registered cryptocurrency businesses, including 22 exchanges, 7 wallets, and custodians.

The Booming South Korean Cryptocurrency Market!

South Korean Virtual Asset Traders

According to the investigation, the strength of the South Korean virtual trading market is not to be underestimated. In the first half of 2023, the trading volume was approximately $21 billion, which significantly increased to $27 billion in the second half of the year. These traders generated a turnover of up to $2 billion in six months and received a large amount of Korean won deposits. In the second half of 2023, there were already 49 trillion Korean won, approximately $36 billion.

	First Half 2023	Second Half 2023	Growth
Trading Volume	2.9 trillion KRW	3.6 trillion KRW	0.7 trillion KRW +24%
Total Operating Profit	2280 billion KRW	2693 billion KRW	413 billion KRW +18%
Deposit Acquisition	4 trillion KRW	4.9 trillion KRW	0.9 trillion KRW +21%

South Korean Virtual Assets

There are approximately 600 types of listed coins among South Korean traders, with over 300 coins exclusively listed on South Korean exchanges, indicating the vibrancy of the domestic market. However, price fluctuations are also occurring dramatically, with fluctuations of up to 60% during the six-month period.

	First Half 2023	Second Half 2023	Growth
Market Value	28.4 trillion KRW	43.6 trillion KRW	15.2 trillion KRW +53%
Number of Virtual Assets Listed	1399 types	1333 types	+66 4.7%
Excluding Redundant Listings	622 types	600 types	+22 3.5%
Exclusive Listings	366 types	332 types	+34 9.3%
Price Fluctuation Highest Price-Lowest Price	62.4%	61.5%	0.9%

South Korean Virtual Asset User Statistics: 6.45 Million People, Majority Invest Below 23,000 TWD

The number of trading users is very large and growing rapidly. From the first half to the second half of 2023, there was an increase of 390,000 people, reaching 6.45 million people. Considering the population of South Korea at around 50 million, this accounts for 12.9%.

However, the age structure of traders is different from the general trend, with the majority being in their 30s instead of in their 20s. Moreover, as many as 4.55 million people are small-scale investors, holding only cryptocurrencies worth less than 1 million KRW, which is below $734.

	First Half 2023	Second Half 2023	Growth
Trading Users	6.06 million people	6.45 million people	+390,000 people
Most Common Age Group	30s	30s	–
Holdings Below 1 Million KRW	4.43 million people	4.55 million people	+120,000 people +2.8%