South Korean exchanges are restructuring around brokerage partnerships, institutional services and regulatory repairs after first-half trading turnover fell 54.6% year over year.
Combined turnover at Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax reached $366.58 billion. From July 1 to 27, the five platforms recorded 17.3 trillion won, down 16.9% from the same period a month earlier.
South Korean Crypto Trading Contracts
July daily turnover averaged 597.8 billion won, or $406.5 million, equal to 1.59% of the KOSPI market’s average. The ratio exceeded 11% in January, hovered near 6% in March and April, then dropped toward 2% in May.
Domestic crypto trading had reached 21 trillion won in one day during November 2024, when investors anticipated supportive policy under a second Trump administration.
Bitcoin averaged a 1.25% daily move, while altcoins averaged 1.79%. Both trailed the KOSPI’s 4.67%, as Bitcoin traded between $60,000 and $63,000 and some retail capital shifted toward stocks.
Korbit sold 15 BTC and 60 ETH over ten days, raising about $11.6 million. Dunamu reported first-quarter revenue and operating profit declines of 55% and 78%, respectively.
A Tiger Research director called the downturn a “second crypto winter,” citing lower market capitalization and limited new project activity.
Banks and Brokerages Shape Survival Plans
The market revived on July 28 and 29, when the KOSPI lost up to 864 trillion won in value. Exchange turnover reached $964.11 million on July 28, up 82.5% from July’s average. A circuit breaker followed a stock decline exceeding 10%.
Upbit’s USDT turnover reached 200.045 billion won on July 29, nearly twice its Bitcoin volume.
Upbit’s July turnover fell 10% to 11.7 trillion won, yet its share rose from 62.3% to 67.4%. Bithumb volume dropped 26.6% to 4.7 trillion won, reducing its share to 27.1%.
Upbit waived fees on six stablecoins from July 26, lifting USDT turnover near 160 billion won, around four times Bithumb’s.
Coinone added a stock-trading tab linked to Korea Investment and Securities after it and OKX Ventures each invested 80 billion won for roughly 20% stakes.
Regulatory Problems Delay Other Deals
Mirae Asset Consulting acquired 97.15% of Korbit. Korbit plans to relaunch as DigitalX and target stablecoins, real-world assets, tokenized securities, custody and institutional clients after eight consecutive operating losses since 2018.
Bithumb’s talks with Kiwoom Securities, Kakao, Toss and Meritz Securities stalled over price, control and structure. Ownership complications, an FIU lawsuit, a Bitcoin misdelivery sanction and pending VASP renewal remain unresolved.
Gopax appointed former AWS Korea executive Kim Na-young and prioritized GoFi repayments approaching 100 billion won. Binance paid about $70 million through September 2023, but payments stopped afterward. Regulators require full repayment before VASP renewal. Gopax raised its won deposit rate to 1.50%, below Upbit’s 2.1% and Bithumb’s 2.2%.
