Crypto Trading Volume Surpasses South Korea’s Stock Market

In a significant shift in South Korea’s financial landscape, the daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies has overtaken that of traditional equities, signaling a growing appetite for digital assets among local investors.

According to a report by Chosun Daily, the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies in South Korea recently exceeded 100 trillion won ($74.8 billion), reflecting a surge in digital asset engagement that now outpaces the country’s stock market in daily transaction volumes.

By December, the total market value of cryptocurrencies stood at around $70.2 billion. Yet what captured attention was the rise in daily trading volume, which grew by approximately $1.4 billion more than that of the country’s stock exchanges, whose total market cap hovers around $1.6 trillion.

South Korea’s crypto exchanges saw an average daily trading volume of $12 billion in December—roughly 17% of their total holdings. This marked a sharp increase compared to earlier months, with trading volumes jumping from $2.38 billion in October to $10.4 billion in November.

Remarkably, digital asset trading in December outstripped the combined average daily volume of the nation's two main stock exchanges: the Korea Exchange (KRX) and the KOSPI Composite Index, which recorded $10.7 billion in daily trades.

By the end of 2023, the five largest cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea—Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX—collectively held around $73 billion in digital assets, according to the Bank of Korea’s 2024 report on payment and settlement systems.

A mix of international developments has helped fuel this market boom. These include the re-election of U.S. President Donald Trump, a vocal supporter of digital currencies, the implementation of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations, and the greenlighting of spot crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in both Hong Kong and the United States.

In November, the total market cap of digital assets in South Korea surpassed $70 billion for the first time—nearly double the $40.7 billion recorded at the end of October, further underscoring the rapid growth and investor enthusiasm sweeping the nation’s crypto space.