South Korea's Crypto Investors Exceed 15.59M, Holding $79B in Assets

Crypto Market Hits Milestone as Investors Surge

The cryptocurrency market in South Korea has reached a staggering new milestone, with over 15.59 million domestic investors reported by the end of November, according to data from the Bank of Korea. This figure represents more than 30% of the country’s population actively engaged in digital asset investments, primarily through the nation’s top five exchanges—Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX. The growth underscores the nation’s increasing adoption of crypto as an asset class, with investors collectively holding an impressive $79 billion in digital assets.

November marked a pivotal moment in South Korea’s crypto landscape. The number of domestic investors surged by 610,000 in a single month, a significant leap compared to the steady growth of 100,000 monthly investors seen from July to October. By November’s end, the country’s crypto investor count had risen from 14.74 million in July to its current 15.59 million. This sharp increase aligned closely with Bitcoin's price rally, which climbed from approximately 100 million KRW in late October to over 135 million KRW by the end of November.

The rise in investor activity and Bitcoin prices pushed the nation’s total crypto holdings to 102.6 trillion KRW ($79 billion), a significant jump from October’s 58 trillion KRW. In addition to invested assets, unallocated deposits in domestic exchanges reached 8.8 trillion KRW. November also saw average daily trading volumes across South Korea's virtual asset exchanges exceed 14.9 trillion KRW—outperforming the combined daily trading volumes of the country’s Kospi and Kosdaq stock markets. By contrast, October’s average daily transactions hovered around 3.4 trillion KRW.

Rep. Lim Gwang-hyun of the Democratic Party of Korea highlighted the crypto market's growing prominence, stating that trading volumes are now comparable to those of the stock market. He stressed the need for government measures to ensure the market's stability and safeguard the rights of crypto investors as the sector continues its rapid growth.

While South Korea’s crypto market thrives, the international crypto regulatory landscape remains tense. In a related development, Montenegro’s Constitutional Court has rejected Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon’s appeal against extradition. The court upheld a prior ruling favoring Kwon’s extradition to both the United States and South Korea, where he faces fraud charges linked to the $40 billion collapse of the Terra Luna ecosystem in May 2022. Kwon’s arrest in Montenegro in March 2023 while using a forged passport has placed him at the center of global scrutiny, with potential ramifications for stablecoin regulations and decentralized finance (DeFi) oversight.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.