South Korean buyers reduce their crypto holdings by greater than half over the previous 12 months as capital moved towards the inventory market.
Abstract
- South Korean crypto holdings dropped from $83.3 billion to $41.4 billion inside a 12 months.
- Buying and selling quantity on 5 main exchanges fell sharply as buyers moved towards equities.
- New AML checks and a 2027 crypto tax could add stress on native exchanges.
Financial institution of Korea knowledge submitted to Rep. Cha Gyu-geun confirmed holdings fell from 121.8 trillion gained, or $83.3 billion, on the finish of January 2025 to 60.6 trillion gained, or $41.4 billion, by the tip of February 2026.
Day by day buying and selling quantity additionally dropped throughout Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit, Coinone, and Gopax. The determine fell to about $3 billion in February from $11.6 billion in December 2024, displaying decrease exercise amongst retail merchants.
Traders transfer towards shares
The decline got here as Korean buyers turned towards equities throughout a powerful inventory market run. Decrease crypto costs additionally lowered the worth of property held on native exchanges.
Received deposits at exchanges additionally fell. The steadiness dropped from 10.7 trillion gained on the finish of 2024 to 7.8 trillion gained, pointing to weaker money demand for crypto buying and selling.
Furthermore, stablecoins moved otherwise from the broader crypto market. Holdings rose from $60 million in July 2024 to $597 million in December, earlier than falling again to $41 million in February.
As beforehand reported, stablecoins made up practically half of South Korea’s crypto outflows in Q1 2025, as customers moved funds to abroad exchanges. That pattern reveals why regulators are watching cross-border crypto flows intently.
Guidelines add stress on exchanges
South Korea can be making ready more durable AML guidelines. Transactions above 10 million gained involving abroad exchanges or non-public wallets may very well be flagged as suspicious from August.
Crypto.information additionally reported that Samsung SDS will construct the Korea Securities Depository’s token securities platform earlier than South Korea’s new tokenized securities framework takes impact in February 2027. That reveals the nation is tightening crypto oversight whereas constructing regulated blockchain market infrastructure.
