South Korea Crypto Exchange Volumes Plummet 88% Year-Over-Year

Daily trading volume on five major South Korean exchanges dropped 88% to 412.7 billion won, forcing Korbit to liquidate assets while institutional interest in tokenization persists.

Woofun AI data shows that daily trading volume across South Korea’s five major won-denominated virtual asset exchanges totaled approximately 412.7 billion won, representing an 88% decline compared to the previous year. This contraction coincides with a 41% reduction in global virtual asset market value, which now stands at $2.322 trillion. Leading firm Dunamu reported a 55% year-on-year revenue drop and a 78% operating profit decline in the first quarter. Smaller exchanges face severe liquidity constraints; Korbit, Coinone, and Gopax, which recorded operating losses last year, are projected to continue losing money. To maintain operations, Korbit executed three asset sales this year, liquidating 15 bitcoins and 60 ethers within ten days to generate approximately 1.6 billion won in cash.

Tiger Research characterized the current environment as a "second crypto winter", citing significant market value shrinkage and a lack of new projects. Despite these headwinds, institutional adoption of blockchain technology is accelerating, with a strategic focus on tokenized assets and stablecoins. Major brokerages such as Future Asset have recently acquired exchange shares, while the government continues to advance legislation for the "Digital Asset Basic Law", indicating sustained optimism regarding medium- to long-term growth potential.