South Korean Crypto Market Cap Surged by 46% in H1 2023, Hitting $21B

Updated: 09 October 2023

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South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (SFC) revealed that the country’s crypto market cap experienced a massive surge in the first half of this year, nearly doubling.

According to the local media outlet, the total market cap climbed to 28.4 trillion won ($21.1 billion) after growing by 46% compared to the previous half-year term.

This is the same period during which the global crypto market grew substantially. The surge was led by Bitcoin, which skyrocketed by 81% at the time, causing the international crypto market cap to surge by 53% and hit 154 trillion won.

Korea JoongAng Daily also reported that operating profits of crypto companies went up to 227.3 billion won, surging by 82% during the same period. Deposits saw similar performance, rising 11% to the 4 trillion won.

🚀 South Korea's virtual asset market skyrockets! 💰 Market cap hits $21.1 billion in H1 2023, up 46% according to Financial Services Commission. 🌐

Global crypto market also soars by 53% to 154T KRW, with Bitcoin at $30,441. 📈 Operators report 82% profit surge! 🤑

— YourCryptoSpace (@YourCryptSpace) October 9, 2023

The FSC managed to draw these figures from surveys of 35 crypto companies operating in the country, 26 of which were crypto exchanges. However, the survey also found that the average value of daily crypto transactions dropped by 1.3%, hitting 2.9 trillion won between January and June of this year.

Interestingly, the number of individual and corporate traders also decreased to 6.06 million, losing around 210,000 active members. As for individual traders, the majority (over 67%) were in their 30s, holding less than 500,000 won in their crypto wallets, on average.

Korea to Bring a New Law for Investor Protection

The data also suggests that Koreans have traded 622 digital currencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and XRP, as the most popular assets. But, there has also been demand for new cryptocurrencies, as around 169 new coins were listed during this period.

At the same time, 115 coins were suspended from trading. Typically, the reasons for suspensions include investor protection, increased project risk, etc.

Korea JoongAng Daily also added that Korea intends to implement a new law for protecting investors next July, which will be unique and the first of its kind.

The new law will ensure that those who unfairly trade crypto assets can be sentenced to prison, be fined, or both for what classifies as unfair trading —it includes behavior such as the use of undisclosed information, illegal transactions, market price manipulation, and more.

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