Upbit remains South Korea’s leading crypto exchange, recording about $1.04 billion in 24-hour spot trading volume as activity rises.
The Dunamu-operated platform handled more spot trading than Bithumb, Coinone and Digital X combined. Bithumb posted $632.6 million, Coinone $67.9 million, and Digital X, formerly Korbit, close to $11 million.
Bitcoin’s late-August rise above $80,000, its first since mid-May, helped draw Korean retail traders back to local exchanges.
Upbit Maintains Lead in South Korean Crypto Trading
Upbit launched in October 2017 and holds South Korea’s first virtual asset service provider license. It lists more than 180 tokens, while Bithumb, founded in 2014, offers over 440 assets.
Before the August 20 rally, Upbit’s daily turnover ranged between 300 billion and 600 billion won. By Saturday afternoon, volume reached 4.61 trillion won, nearly ten times the week-earlier level, while Bithumb exceeded 2 trillion won.
Upbit’s trading volume rose 273% in one day to about $1.84 billion, marking its busiest session since mid-March. XRP was the most-traded token on both Upbit and Bithumb.
Presto Research analyst Min Jung described Korean traders as “return-chasers” who buy assets already moving higher.
Korean Crypto Exchanges Recover After Weak First Half
South Korea’s four largest crypto exchanges lost nearly 500 billion won, or $364 million, combined during the first half of 2026. Falling cryptocurrency prices reduced exchange-held asset values, while weaker activity cut fee income.
Trading fees accounted for 96.91% of Dunamu’s first-half revenue, which fell by half from the previous year. Dunamu’s operating profit declined 79.7% year-on-year, while Bithumb’s dropped 83.4%.
First-half trading across Korean exchanges fell 54.6% from a year earlier to $366.58 billion. Capital moved into South Korea’s stock market, which reached record highs with strong performances from Samsung and SK Hynix.
Smaller Exchanges Use Zero Fees to Challenge Upbit
With activity returning, smaller exchanges are waiving fees to attract traders and gain market share from Upbit.
Coinone removed trading fees on all listed coins until further notice, while Digital X introduced marketwide zero-fee trading through August 2027.
Digital X’s average hourly volume rose 36 times, from 270 million won to 9.8 billion won. However, 87% came from RLUSD trading during an event distributing the stablecoin to large traders.
Coinone’s hourly volume tripled to 8.2 billion won after fees were removed, but trading quickly returned to normal levels.
Bithumb ran a 68-day fee-free campaign last year, but its market share never exceeded 30%. It launched another seven-day campaign in February.
Upbit and Bithumb waive fees only on selected tokens. Upbit removed charges on stablecoins including Tether, or USDT-USD, starting July 26.
Digital X’s parent company, Mirae Asset Financial Group, is in talks to buy Korbit for up to 140 billion won, or $97.5 million.
