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South Korea Crypto Trading Plummets 90%
28 May
Summary
- Crypto trading volume is now one-tenth of stock market levels.
- Major exchanges saw crypto volume at 8% of KOSPI trading in May.
- Retail participation signals a potential crypto market cooling.

Cryptocurrency trading in South Korea has experienced a substantial downturn, currently operating at approximately one-tenth the volume of the stock market. This shift is attributed to investors diverting their attention towards equities, coinciding with a robust rally in the country's KOSPI index. Data from May indicates that the aggregate trading volume across leading exchanges such as Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax amounted to merely 8% of the KOSPI's trading volume.
This significant decrease is a notable change from December 2024, a period when the post-election crypto rally in the United States briefly propelled cryptocurrency trading volume to exceed that of the stock market. Observers are now closely monitoring whether the observed decline in retail investor participation suggests a more enduring cooling trend within South Korea's previously leading cryptocurrency trading landscape.