Written by Klein Labs
TL;DR
1. Explosive market growth
In 2024, South Korea's total crypto market value exceeded US$74.8 billion, and the top five exchanges managed assets of US$73 billion.
Average daily trading volume surged to $10.7 billion in December, surpassing South Korea's two largest stock exchanges.
The unique "Kimchi premium" phenomenon (premium up to 10%) reflects the extremely high enthusiasm of local investors.
2. Economic and social drivers
Limited investment channels: Weak performance of real estate and stock markets has driven funds to highly volatile crypto assets.
Depreciation of the Korean won and low interest rates: Expectations of currency depreciation and loose monetary policy accelerate the allocation of crypto assets.
Social psychology: Young people’s wealth anxiety is intensifying, and cryptocurrency is seen as a “fast track” to social mobility.
3. User and Ecosystem Characteristics
Universal participation: approximately 25 million investors (nearly half of the population), covering all age groups, with a significant proportion of middle-aged and elderly high-net-worth users.
Exchanges are highly concentrated: UPbit and Bithumb monopolize 98% of the market share, and the local project "Kimchicoin" is popular.
In-depth layout of chaebols: giants such as Samsung and Kakao are involved in public chains, exchanges and hardware, promoting a closed ecological loop.
4. Future Trends
Favorable policies: New President Lee Jae-myung promotes crypto ETFs, Korean won stablecoins and STO pilots, and tax adjustments are postponed.
Innovation track: DeFi, AI+ blockchain, and RWA (real asset tokenization) have become key development directions.
Global inspiration: The Korean model balances compliance and innovation and may become a benchmark case for Asia’s crypto hub.
The prosperity of the Korean market is essentially the result of the combined effect of economic structure, social sentiment and policy orientation, providing a unique "high activity + strong localization" model for the global crypto ecosystem.
1. Introduction
While the global crypto market is becoming more stable, South Korea continues to experience an "alternative prosperity" with active transactions and high enthusiasm.
According to the "Annual Payment and Settlement Report" released by the Bank of Korea on April 21, by the end of 2024, the total market value of the Korean market exceeded 100 trillion won (about 74.8 billion US dollars), and the five major local exchanges managed a total of 73 billion US dollars in assets; the average daily trading volume in December increased sharply from 2.38 billion US dollars in October to 10.7 billion US dollars, surpassing the two major Korean stock exchanges in just two months. The annual revenue of the Korean crypto market is expected to grow from 264.3 million US dollars in 2024 to 635.4 million US dollars in 2030, with an average annual compound growth rate of 16.1%. As of April 2025, 25 million people have been confirmed to have opened accounts in virtual asset exchanges to invest in cryptocurrencies. About half of South Korea's 51 million population has invested in the cryptocurrency market. Even more eye-catching is the "Kimchi Premium" phenomenon unique to the Korean crypto market, which refers to the fact that the price of cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.) on Korean exchanges is significantly higher than that of other major exchanges in the world. In March 2024, the premium reached 8.5%, and in November it peaked at 10%, far higher than the global average, reflecting the extremely high enthusiasm of local investors and the arbitrage demand under capital controls.
The huge flow of funds, the broad user base, and the unique market price difference effect have jointly shaped the high activity and extraordinary popularity of the Korean crypto market, which is like a "golden city" in the digital age in the global crypto map. Why is the Korean crypto market exploding so rapidly? We will analyze the deep logic behind this digital hot land from three dimensions: driving factors, current status portrait and future opportunities: How do political and economic structures give rise to strong demand for risk aversion and speculation? How does the local ecology create a world-leading trading vitality from the "Kimchi Premium" to an average daily transaction volume of tens of billions of US dollars? Looking to the future, what tracks and innovations will drive the Korean market to continue to lead?
Next, let’s take a deeper look at this phenomenal boom.
2. Analysis of the reasons for the hot crypto market in South Korea
2.1 Economic reasons
Limited investment channels
Traditional investment channels in South Korea are relatively limited. Under the framework of consumer choice theory, when individuals are faced with limited resource allocation, they will weigh the utility between different asset classes to maximize expected returns.
When traditional investments such as real estate and stocks face realistic limitations such as high prices, downward returns, poor liquidity and high entry barriers, investors naturally tend to look for alternative assets with higher marginal utility.
In South Korea, traditional investment channels are facing structural difficulties. Take real estate and stocks as examples:
- real estate:
South Korea's economic growth rate was only 1.4% in 2023. Although it rebounded to 2% in 2024, consumer and investment confidence remained weak.
Against this backdrop, housing prices remain high, presenting a structural contradiction. Since 2010, the capital region has risen by 47.1%, and the five metropolitan cities have risen by 76.5%. In 2024, the transaction volume in the capital region will decrease by 7.5% year-on-year, and Seoul will decline for three consecutive months from August to October (20.1%, 34.9%, and 19.2%).
House Sales Price Index Trend 2010-2024 (source: KB Think)
Faced with the "three highs and one low" situation of high housing prices, high loan rates, high interest rates and low transaction volumes, traditional real estate no longer has a widely adaptable investment attribute, and market participation enthusiasm has obviously cooled down. Young people and low- and middle-income people are restricted from buying homes, prompting them to turn to emerging investment channels such as crypto assets with high volatility and high return expectations.
- stock
In terms of the stock market, the KOSPI (Korea Composite Stock Price Index) fell by 8.03% in 2024, far lower than the Shanghai Composite Index +12.68% and the Nikkei 225 +17.06% in the same period. At the same time, the S&P 500 rose, causing the return gap between the two markets and the Korean market to reach 32.3%, the highest since 2000. At a time when global stock markets are generally recovering, the Korean market presents a "lonely downward (고립된약세)" situation. Investor confidence has been significantly frustrated.
As South Korea's traditional stock market continues to perform poorly and earnings expectations are weak, some South Korean investors are beginning to turn their attention to the field of crypto assets, which have higher volatility and greater return potential.
Low interest rates and loose monetary conditions
Interest rates of various countries (source: MacroMicro)
Long-term loose monetary policy and low interest rate environment have prompted Korean investors to accelerate their shift to high-yield assets. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the benchmark interest rate of the Bank of Korea has been maintained at 3.5% for a long time, which is significantly lower than the interest rate level of the Federal Reserve of over 5%, resulting in a decline in the attractiveness of savings and actual returns that are difficult to resist inflationary pressure.
In this context, the demand for high-volatility, high-return assets has increased. Cryptocurrency has become the preferred investment direction for risk-seeking investors, especially young people, due to its strong profit potential, low threshold and high liquidity. Overall, the low interest rate policy has further promoted the flow of funds to crypto assets while weakening the attractiveness of traditional financial instruments.
Expectations of a depreciation of the Korean won
USD/KRW chart (source: Xe)
In recent years, the won has continued to depreciate. In April 2025, the exchange rate against the US dollar fell to 1473.75 won, the lowest level since 2009. The depreciation of the won, coupled with high oil prices and rising supply chain costs, has pushed up domestic inflationary pressure. Data shows that in March 2025, South Korea's CPI rose by 2.1% year-on-year, and the prices of kimchi and coffee rose by 15.3% and 8.3% respectively. The actual purchasing power of residents has been damaged, and the economic recovery has been under pressure.
As a dollar-denominated, globally circulated, decentralized asset, cryptocurrency has become a new path for investors to hedge against currency depreciation and seek asset preservation.
2.2 Social and psychological reasons
According to the "Happiness = Utility/Desire" theory proposed by economist Samuelson, when desire rises rapidly and utility is limited, individual happiness will drop significantly.
Long-term social class solidification, high competitive pressure and economic fluctuations have intensified wealth anxiety among young people, making "money" the dominant life goal. According to data from the Bank of Korea in 2024, 72.4% of respondents believe that "economic conditions" are the most important determinant of happiness. At the same time, a report from the Korean National Statistical Office in early 2025 pointed out that 69.1% of people aged 2039 listed "wealth freedom" as their primary life goal.
Amid this social sentiment, slogans such as “Money is the most important thing” and “Reality sucks” are popular.
As traditional paths such as employment, savings, and stock market returns are unable to satisfy the desire for wealth, cryptocurrency investment options that are highly effective and break through class restrictions are being sought by young people, and are seen as a potential channel for achieving happiness and reversing their destiny.
At the same time, the consumption concept of young Koreans is also undergoing profound changes around the goal of "wealth freedom", which further affects their investment preferences. According to media reports such as "Asia Economy", young Koreans are showing two typical consumer psychology differentiations:
The first is the "YOLO (You Only Live Once)" group, which emphasizes instant gratification and high risk preference;
The second group is the "YONO (You Only Need One)" group, which tends to consume rationally and attaches importance to asset accumulation.
In the YOLO group, facing the pressure of reality and class anxiety, many young people tend to regard the crypto market as a "rich opportunity" beyond the stock market, breaking through the traditional wealth path and achieving class leap. In order to preserve the value of assets and hedge against economic uncertainty, the YONO group gradually turned to increasing savings and investment. According to the 2024 Z Generation Consumer Trend Survey, about 71.7% of the young people interviewed said that they would prioritize savings and asset allocation. Crypto assets have become a new investment option because of their high returns.
Despite their different consumption attitudes, the two have similar investment motivations for high-yield assets, and cryptocurrencies just meet their common psychology of pursuing returns and wealth growth.
2.3 Why is South Korea so prosperous, but not Japan?
2.3.1 Economic perspective: The Korean won is relatively weak, and alternative paths are needed
Japanese Yen: Due to its extremely low interest rate and huge foreign exchange reserves, the Japanese Yen is considered a safe-haven currency internationally. Even when the Japanese Yen exchange rate fluctuates, its financing advantage remains unchanged. When encountering geopolitical risks or financial turmoil, the market is more willing to hold Japanese Yen assets to hedge against the risk of decline in other markets.
Korean won: Small market size, weak liquidity, and fluctuates in the same direction as global risk sentiment. In addition, its foreign exchange reserve position is weak, and some capital controls make it difficult for it to assume the same status as the Japanese yen.
Therefore, compared with Japanese investors, Korean investors lack long-term trust and security in their own currency assets, and tend to look for assets that are not denominated in their own currency and can be circulated globally. Cryptocurrencies are highly in line with investor needs.
2.3.2 Economic Perspective: Traditional Investment Returns Are Lower, So We Are Pursuing Higher Returns
Real estate: South Korea's real estate investment accounts for more than 50%, much higher than Japan's 37%, but the overall actual rate of return is lower, and there are more restrictions on real estate investment:
Comparison of real estate yields in Japan and South Korea (source: Klein Labs)
Stock Market: In recent years, the Korean stock market has been weaker than Japan. But it is particularly evident in 2024:
Comparison of Japanese and Korean stock markets (source: Klein Labs)
2.3.3 Policy perspective: South Korea’s open attitude and Japan’s conservative restrictions
Comparison of cryptocurrency policies and attitudes in Japan and South Korea (source: Klein Labs)
2.3.4 Cultural perspective: South Korea pursues getting rich quickly, while Japan focuses on steady accumulation
Japan: More emphasis is placed on "accumulating little by little" and "prudent financial management". The proverbs "Work hard all your life to accumulate wealth bit by bit" and "Treasures in the family should be left alone" reflect the Japanese's tendency to accumulate wealth over the long term and to increase value steadily, and their emphasis on the values of restraint, accumulation and patience.
South Korea: Emphasis on "quick success" and "keeping up with the trend". Concepts such as "빨리빨리 (fast)" are popular in society. People tend to pursue short-term high returns and are eager to get rich quickly through stock speculation, cryptocurrency speculation, real estate, etc.
The prosperity of the Korean crypto market is essentially the best trade-off made by investors in terms of macroeconomics, traditional assets, government attitudes, and thinking culture. Although Japan, as a developed country in East Asia, has similar soil, it is still slightly inferior to South Korea's unique position in the global crypto market.
2.4 The Korean model’s inspiration to the global crypto market
As the Asian crypto market landscape quietly changes, South Korea's "golden mean" is highlighting its strategic value. Compared with Singapore's recent tightening of supervision on local projects providing services overseas, and the slow pace of approval and taxation in Hong Kong and Japan, South Korea's institutional flexibility, cultural fit and capital environment are forming new comparative advantages.
The latest policy of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) requires local projects to stop providing token services overseas by the end of June and cancel the transitional support, breaking its previous "foreign-friendly" regulatory image. This sudden policy change has caused a large number of crypto companies to re-evaluate their deployment in the Asian market and turn their attention to countries with more flexible systems and more room for implementation. Although Hong Kong is also actively opening up, it is difficult to undertake a large number of project transfers in the short term due to the complex regulatory hierarchy and prudent pace.
In this context, South Korea is becoming a strong candidate in the next round of competition for crypto hubs in Asia by virtue of its local resource integration capabilities, technology implementation efficiency and social and cultural stickiness. For the global market, the key revelation of the Korean model is that regulation can be guided by encouragement rather than comprehensive relaxation; user education and cultural adaptation are the underlying logic of all growth; infrastructure sovereignty and international coordination are not in conflict, but are the dual-wheel drive of future development.
In the new policy game in Asia, South Korea is not only an active consumer market, but also has the potential to become a regional technology source and asset management center. If the global encryption industry is to be localized in the future, South Korea provides a realistic model worthy of reference.
3. Analysis of Korean market users
3.1 User Profile in the Korean Market
Market and account types: overall rapid growth
Growth in investor size: As of January 2025, the five largest exchanges in South Korea (UPbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, Gopax) have about 25.25 million registered individual investors. This is an increase of about 37.6% compared to the same period three years ago. This growth reflects the rapid expansion of the market, which has attracted a large number of new users to register, showing that the popularity of cryptocurrencies in South Korea is accelerating and the market penetration rate is gradually increasing.
Actual user growth : As of February 2025, the total number of accounts on South Korean crypto asset exchanges has exceeded 25 million, of which about 17.09 million accounts are actually active investors. In 2024, the market heats up and activity has increased significantly: since Trump was re-elected as president, the number of inactive accounts has dropped from about 8.57 million at the beginning of 2024 to 8.01 million at the end of the year, indicating that investment confidence is gradually recovering and funds are flowing back into the crypto market.
Age and gender: Young users have grown significantly, and female participation has increased
source: Financial Services Commission of Korea
The users of the Korean cryptocurrency market are mainly middle-aged people in their 30s and 40s, accounting for more than 50% in total, indicating that mainstream trading users are concentrated in groups with strong economic strength and mature investment awareness.
The young user group under the age of 20 also showed strong growth momentum, accounting for 18.6%. This data shows that crypto assets are rapidly gaining popularity among the younger generation, and young people are becoming an emerging force in the market, bringing greater growth potential to the future market.
As age increases, the gap between women and men in the crypto market gradually narrows, especially the participation of middle-aged and older women has increased. This shows that although young women have a lower market share, the participation of women has increased significantly among the middle-aged and older groups with stronger economic strength.
source: 금융위원회 (South Korea Finance Committee)
Age and capital size: obvious generational stratification
The Korean cryptocurrency market is dominated by small investors, and most users hold less than 500,000 won, especially among young people. At the same time, users with assets of more than 10 million won accounted for 10%, a slight decrease of 0.2 percentage points from the end of 2023, and users with assets of more than 100 million won fell to 104,000, reflecting the decline in the proportion of high-net-worth individuals in the market.
Looking at the correlation between age and asset size, younger users are more inclined to make small investments (less than 500,000 won), while older users (50s and above) are more inclined to make larger investments (more than 5 million won). This high-net-worth group has become the main force of value in the crypto market.
It is worth noting that although investors over 60 years old account for a small proportion, the total amount of virtual assets they hold is 13.3795 trillion won. They have a relatively conservative investment tendency and manage their retirement funds by investing a large amount of money in high-market-value currencies such as Bitcoin.
The Korean crypto market presents a "two-tier structure" feature - young people mainly contribute to the number of users and activity, while the middle-aged and elderly groups control more assets and transaction volume. This means that the market has a very obvious generational stratification feature in terms of user composition.
3.2 User Habits
3.2.1 User asset preferences
Global asset share and domestic asset share: the impact of local personalization
source: 금융위원회 (South Korea Finance Committee)
South Korea's virtual asset market continues to grow: South Korea's domestic virtual asset market value has reached US$21.2 billion, an increase of 46% over last year, indicating rapid market expansion.
Bitcoin dominates the market: Bitcoin remains the dominant asset in the Korean market, accounting for 37.2% of the total transaction volume, far exceeding other assets.
XRP has strong appeal in South Korea: Despite its low global ranking, XRP ranks second in the South Korean market with a market capitalization of $588 million, showing its high popularity among South Korean users.
High concentration of mainstream assets: The top ten virtual assets in the Korean market are basically consistent with the top ten in the world, reflecting the Korean market’s preference for mainstream assets (such as ETH, DOGE, and SOL).
3.2.2 Overall user behavior characteristics
In the Korean cryptocurrency market, user behavior is highly centralized.
Trading platform preferences are concentrated : According to market data in 2024, UPbit, South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, accounts for approximately 70% to 80% of the domestic market, demonstrating its dominance in the local market.
Market share of the top four Korean exchanges in terms of trading volume in 2024 (source: Klein Labs)
Concentrated trading configuration preferences : The premium and trust endorsement of local projects drive the flow of funds. Users are more interested in "kimchi coins" (such as Steem Dollars, Moss Coin, Hippocrat) that are exclusively listed on trading platforms, while the trading activity of mainstream assets is relatively low compared to the global market; local exchanges have further magnified the "kimchi premium" effect through large-scale publicity and promotion cooperation, attracting a large amount of funds to continue to flow in.
3.2.3 Usage on the chain
DEX vs. CEX market share (source: The Block)
As the global crypto ecosystem evolves, decentralized trading is rising rapidly. As of December 2024, the global DEX spot trading volume accounted for 13.76% of CEX, with a daily trading volume of US$54.84 billion. In contrast, the Korean market's dependence on CEX is still significantly higher than the global average. Data shows that about 68.9% of trading volume is still concentrated on centralized platforms, and the usage rate of DEX and DeFi protocols is low, indicating that local users prefer stable and regulated scenarios in their trading habits.
However, South Korea's on-chain ecosystem is rapidly awakening. In 2024, the proportion of DEX transactions increased from 8.57% to nearly 17%, and at the beginning of 2025, DEX transactions accounted for 16.7%. Raydium and Phantom in the Solana ecosystem are favored by young Korean users due to their low threshold and fast coin listing. Platforms such as Pump.fun have also stimulated retail investors' enthusiasm for DEX and promoted changes in the structure of trading behavior.
Despite the strong development momentum, the Korean DeFi market has not yet fully exploded due to local regulations and restrictions on capital flows. To realize the potential, it is still necessary to achieve a balance between "security and innovation" at the regulatory level and open up the growth channel of on-chain finance.
4. Overview of Korean Crypto Market Exchanges
South Korea's local exchanges have a strong listing effect, especially mainstream platforms represented by UPbit. Once a project is launched, it often triggers significant market fluctuations and becomes an important indicator of the crypto market. This effect has also prompted a large number of projects to regard "taking over Korean exchanges" as one of their core goals when competing for Korean market resources. In addition, Korea Blockchain Week (KBW) has become a crypto event that has attracted global attention. It is an important platform for exchanges to release listing signals, project debuts, and capital communication. This year's KBW (X: @kbwofficial) will be held from September 22 to 28, 2025, hosted by FACTBLOCK (X: @FACTBLOCK). At that time, crypto practitioners from all over the world will gather in Seoul.
The Korean cryptocurrency trading market is highly concentrated, dominated by five major spot exchanges: UPbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax.
Comparison of market share of South Korea’s four major local exchanges from 2022 to 2024 (source: Klein Labs)
Observing the market share of the four major Korean local exchanges three years ago, we have initially reached the following conclusions:
The combined market share of the top two (UPbit and Bithumb) basically accounts for more than 98% of the total market share, and the head monopoly effect is serious.
Although UPbit adopted the most conservative listing policy, its market share still increased from 78% to 86% last year.
Bithumb had the largest year-on-year sales decline, which may be related to its zero commission policy implemented in the fourth quarter of 2023, which significantly reduced sales and profit results. The policy may have had a positive impact on user trading activity, resulting in a narrowing of the market share gap between Bithumb and other exchanges, indicating that this policy played a key role in improving the platform's competitiveness.
Coinone and Korbit have a small market share, but they can meet niche demands through differentiation strategies and use the long-tail effect to gradually expand their market share and enhance their competitiveness.
4.1 UPbit
Operated by Dunamu and supported by Kakao, it has a broad user base and high compliance, and is one of the first platforms in South Korea to obtain a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license. Since its establishment in 2017, it has grown rapidly and has become a leader in the Korean market, supporting direct deposit transactions in Korean won, which is very attractive to local Korean users and ranks among the top five cryptocurrency exchanges in the world in terms of trading volume. Currently, UPbit offers Korean won/Bitcoin/US dollar (KRW/BTC/USDT) trading pairs, with most of the trading volume coming from the Korean won market. UPbit has abundant liquidity and continues to rank in the top 5 in spot trading volume in the global exchange competition.
4.2 Bithumb
Founded in 2014, it was once the leader in the Korean market and is currently the second largest liquidity exchange in South Korea after UPbit. Meanwhile, Bithumb is still actively pursuing growth and plans to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) in 2025. With an aggressive fee policy, Bithumb has recently regained market share and continues to play an important role.
4.3 Other Korean firms
Coinone is well-known for its high security, and has not had any security incidents in the eight years since its establishment. It is the first exchange in South Korea to list Ethereum and is active in the meme token field.
Korbit was founded the earliest and was the first in the world to launch Korean won bitcoin trading in April 2013. It is the only Korean exchange that experienced the bitcoin surge at the end of 2013. At the same time, Korbit YouTube and Korbit Research are well-known for providing high-quality information.
4.4 Overseas Exchanges in Korea
In South Korea, overseas exchanges such as Binance, OKX, KuCoin, Kraken, Bybit and Coinbase have gradually attracted a large number of investors. According to the survey data of virtual asset service providers (VASPs) by the Financial Services Commission of South Korea, the transfer of funds to foreign VASP wallets has increased by 2.3 times compared with last year. The main reasons behind this phenomenon are the sluggish stock market returns and political instability. In particular, after the martial law in South Korea in December 2024, the service interruption of major local exchanges seriously weakened people's trust in the stability of these platforms. More and more investors choose to turn to overseas exchanges and DeFi platforms.
Advantages:
Bitcoin: South Korea Premium Index (source: CryptoQuant)
Korea Premium Index = (Korea local exchange price − global average price) ÷ global average price × 100%
The Korean premium index has been greater than 0 for a long time, indicating that the Korean cryptocurrency market has long had a premium higher than the global average price, reflecting strong local demand or limited capital flow.
The main advantage of investing in overseas exchanges is the "Kimchi premium", which means that the price of cryptocurrencies on Korean exchanges is usually higher than the global market, with a premium of up to 20%. Investors can make a profit by buying at low prices overseas and selling at a premium domestically.
The revenue of Korean exchanges mainly depends on transaction commissions, and regulation restricts their business diversification. Due to the lack of derivatives trading functions, investors usually choose overseas platforms such as Binance and OKX for margin trading to obtain higher returns.
Limitations: Government measures. South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit has banned access to 17 unregistered overseas crypto trading apps, restricting user downloads and updates, including KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex, etc.
5. Overview of investment institutions and market makers in the Korean market
South Korea’s crypto investment institutions as a whole have three major characteristics:
Institutional types include pure cryptocurrency venture capital (VC), corporate venture capital (CVC) and multi-strategy hedge funds.
The investment stages range from seed round to growth stage, and the industry focus includes DeFi, NFT, Web3 games, infrastructure and artificial intelligence.
The institutions differ significantly in terms of regional layout, ecosystem construction and project incubation, and their successful cases cover globally renowned protocols and start-up projects.
In the Korean cryptocurrency market, the main investment institutions are as follows:
Hashed
Introduction: Founded in 2017, headquartered in Seoul, it focuses on incubating early Web3 projects in the Asian market, with both capital and ecological construction functions, and strengthens community linkage by holding activities such as "Hashed Potato Club" and KBW
Well-known success cases: Axie Infinity, The Sandbox, Decentraland and other well-known games and metaverse projects
(X:@hashed_official)
Nonce Classic
Introduction: Founded in 2018, it calls itself a "social network driven VC", emphasizes teamwork and information sharing, and provides incubation support for invested projects through community mechanisms.
Well-known success cases: Seed round investment in Eisen, Pilgrim Protocol and Radius, etc., most of the projects invested are Layer1 and DeFi infrastructure. (X:@nonceclassic)
Blocore
Introduction: Gameberry's corporate venture capital department focuses on "investment + incubation" and focuses on Web3 games and IP projects, accompanying them from seed to growth.
Well-known successful cases: early layout of Animoca Brands, The Sandbox and Wemix and other leading projects, helping many game manufacturers to enter the global market. (X:@blocore_vc)
Samsung Next
Introduction: Samsung Group's innovative investment department, covering multiple tracks such as Web3 infrastructure, AI hardware acceleration, security monitoring and asset management, connecting enterprise-level and consumer-level applications
Well-known success cases: participated in Sahara AI's $43 million Series A financing, and invested in international leading projects such as Yuga Labs, LayerZero, and Berachain. (X:@SamsungNext)
Tiger Research (타이거리서치)
Introduction: With its expertise in on-chain data analysis and quantitative research, TigerResearch provides precise market-making solutions for DeFi protocols and a variety of trading pairs with its self-developed price discovery algorithm and risk control model. Its exclusive "dynamic order" strategy can automatically adjust the order volume according to market depth and transaction tendency. The team's services cover mainstream exchanges such as UPbit and Coinone, and are deeply involved in the local DeFi project test network incentive plan. (X:@TigerResearch)
Klein Labs（클라인랩스）
Introduction: Klein Labs is a research-driven Web3 crypto service provider that focuses on providing customized liquidity management, full-stack growth solutions, and capital strategies to participants in the crypto ecosystem. Advanced data analysis and algorithmic strategies are used to optimize bid-ask spreads and minimize transaction slippage. Klein Labs not only provides market-making services, but also integrates marketing, listing and fundraising support to provide a one-stop solution for project parties in South Korea, while also conducting venture capital and incubation for early-stage projects. (X:@kleinlabsxyz)
6. Some star projects in the Korean market
In the Korean crypto market, a number of protocols are gaining unexpected user recognition and growth potential by virtue of product fit, community operation and channel adaptation.
The following are some projects and protocols with strong performance in the Korean market, active community voice, and high transaction participation.
6.1 Underlying Ecosystem
6.1.1 Kaia
Layer1 Asia, jointly incubated by Kakao and Naver, focuses on distributed vouchers and points systems. It has generated over 38 million wallets, connected to 80+ mini-programs, and has 1-1.5 million daily active addresses. (X: @KaiaChain)
6.1.2 Story Protocol
Positioned as a "programmable narrative engine", it supports IP on-chain creation and licensing. It has launched more than 120 DApps, and its partners include the three major mainstream media and leading game manufacturers in South Korea. (X: @StoryProtocol)
6.1.3 Arbitrum
Set up the local community "Arbitrum Korea" and cooperate with Delabs and Lotte Metaverse; the number of registrations in the first month increased by 45%, accounting for 28% of Korea's L2 transaction volume. (X: @arbitrum)
6.1.4 Aptos
Cooperated with Supervillain Labs to hold a hackathon and developer salon in Seoul; promoted Move education, the community DApp monthly active users exceeded 5,000, and the number of developers settled in increased by 75% year-on-year. (X: @Aptos)
6.1.5 Monad
Released Korean documents and SDK, launched the "Monad Analyst Certification" course in collaboration with the Seoul Digital Asset Research Institute, and the number of members in the official Discord Korean community exceeded 8,200. (X: @monad_xyz)
6.1.6 ICP
ICP established an official hub in South Korea, and its ecological project Piggycell was connected to South Korea's largest shared charging platform and was selected for the Olympus accelerator program. (X: @dfinity)
6.2 DeFi
6.2.1 Mitosis
Modular multi-chain asset management protocol, supporting cross-chain lending and strategy configuration. Multiple pools have been launched, and transactions are growing steadily. (X: @MitosisOrg)
6.2.2 Keplr Wallet
Cosmos native wallet, with high popularity in the Korean community; established "Korea Hub" with local validators, and the local stake accounts for more than 40% of the entire network. (X: @keplrwallet)
6.2.3 Exponents Fi
Focusing on revenue automation and risk management, it has the ability to dynamically adjust strategies. TVL grew by 20% in the first month of launch and was welcomed by professional users. (X: @Exponents_Fi)
6.2.4 Xangle
Leading on-chain data services and solutions provider, helping enterprises thrive in the dynamic web3 environment.
（X: @Xangle_official）
6.3 GameFi
6.3.1 MapleStory N / Nexon
MapleStory N, developed by Nexon, has become a popular Web3 RPG. Its token $NXPC has a market value of over $200 million and is listed on top exchanges. (X: @MaplestoryU)
6.3.2 Delabs
4:33 Games sub-brand, the game "Rumble Racing Star" focuses on the on-chain track asset mechanism; the platform has more than 400 million players worldwide, and the game airdrop event attracted a large number of players to participate. (X: @DelabsOfficial)
6.3.3 Wemix
One of the strongest blockchain game infrastructures in South Korea, with a daily turnover of 20 million US dollars. It supports functional modules such as DeFi/NFT/SoFi, and hosts more than 100 blockchain games at home and abroad. (X: @WemixNetwork)
6.3.4 BigTime
The time-travel MMORPG, combined with Warcraft/Diablo elements, has attracted a large number of hardcore action gamers in the Korean market. (X: @playbigtime)
6.3.5 FLOKI
The full-stack community ecosystem evolved from Meme has gained a large number of fans in Korea through education, DeFi platform and game sectors. (X: @RealFlokiInu)
6.4 AI
6.4.1 FDN
Initiated by a local Korean AI team, it focuses on Web3 data collection and model training, and has been implemented in KYC, AIGC, Metaverse and other scenarios, and has received investment from Web3Labs and Kucoin Labs. (X: @project_fdn)
6.4.2 FLOCK
Decentralized AI privacy computing protocol, proposes a new paradigm of "joint learning block", replaces data center with on-chain mechanism. Focuses on data sovereignty and composability. (X: @flock_io)
6.5 SocialFi
UXLINK
Although it is not a local Korean project, it is highly active in the Korean community. Through the Telegram plug-in, it integrates social asset management, image and text generation, and social transactions to form a strong sticky community structure. (X: @UXLINKofficial)
7. Marketing and promotion in South Korea
7.1 Media Platform
TokenPost
Introduction: TokenPost was founded in 2014 and has participated in the Korean government blockchain forum, Asian Crypto Summit and technical seminars as an official cooperative media many times. It has also conducted many exclusive interviews with industry core figures such as Vitalik Buterin, CZ and Korean family consortiums. It has reached a strategic alliance with Investing.com, a mainstream financial portal with 20 million users, and Nasdaq. The platform also has a data platform and industry research department to provide customized intelligence services for institutions and enterprises. In 2025, its monthly visits exceeded 7 million, and it is building a "Korea Window" for the global Web3 market. (X:@tokenpostkr)
CoinNess
Introduction: CoinNess is South Korea's leading cryptocurrency media platform, focusing on real-time translation and publishing of overseas news. Its Live Feed service provides real-time updates to investors. CoinNess is also South Korea's largest provider of institutional cryptocurrency investment information. CoinNess has established a partnership with Yonhap Infomax, the provider of South Korea's national news agency Yonhap News, to exclusively provide real-time cryptocurrency feeds. (X:@CoinnessGL)
Blockmedia
Professional blockchain media, focusing on traditional finance and crypto market trends, project updates and regulatory dynamics. Cited 1,080 times on Telegram in 2023, with a coverage rate of 68%. Because it focuses more on traditional financial reports, its timeliness is slightly inferior to CoinNess, but it is known for its high quality. (X:@Blockmedia)
Cobak
Founded in 2018, Cobak is South Korea's leading cryptocurrency platform, providing global price tracking and an ad-free community. It has over 500,000 users and 100,000 wallets, has held bounty campaigns totaling up to 10 billion won, and has successfully launched more than 47 IDOs since 2019. (X: @CobakOfficial)
FACTBLOCK
Since 2018, Korea Blockchain Week (KBW) has been held, with both media and advisory functions, and its influence covers global Web3 leaders. The 2024 event attracted 61,700+ attendees, 870+ guests and 300+ sponsors, highlighting its unique advantages of integrated media and industry events. (X: @FACTBLOCK)
7.2 Marketing Agency
Despread (디스프레드)
Introduction: A consulting company and KoL Agency that provides GTM strategies for the Korean market. (X:@DespreadTeam)
071 Labs
Introduction: 071labs is a leading marketing agency in South Korea, providing the KoL support network for many well-known projects such as Paticle Network, UXLink, Catizen, etc. in the Korean market, and also participates in early-stage investments. (X: @071_labs)
7.3 KOL
WeCryptoTogether
Introduction: WeCryptoTogether is one of the most influential top KOLs in the current Korean crypto community. Currently, the core community subscribers of Telegram are close to 50,000, bringing together active DeFi enthusiasts and investors, and have a high voice and user appeal in the local market. Serving as the preferred AMA host for many Korean local projects, he has hosted more than 10 major AMAs in the local community in 2024. He is good at publishing in-depth technical analysis and macro trends in both Korean and English, and quickly interpreting new projects and regulatory dynamics. (telegram:@WeCryptoTogether)
basixally
Introduction: His Telegram community "베이지컬리비트코인시황" has more than 16,000 subscribers. He is a very representative Bitcoin analysis KOL in the Korean crypto community. His content style is known for its combination of technical schools and trend acumen. Focusing on swing trading and medium-term strategies, he often outputs analysis content through dimensions such as chart analysis, K-line structure, volume and macro interest rate cycle. In the first quarter of 2025, the BTC trading win rate of his public strategy was as high as 72%, which was widely circulated in the investment circle within Telegram in Korea. (telegram:@basixally98)
A man who became an unemployed vagrant to speculate in cryptocurrencies
Introduction: A YouTube video content production education KOL with outstanding local influence in South Korea. The number of subscribers to the channel is close to 60,000. Its content covers multiple dimensions such as blockchain technology principles, investment logic introduction, market hot spot tracking, etc., which are adapted to the diverse needs of beginners to advanced investors. In the first half of 2025, it will continue to maintain high-frequency content output, keep up with global macro topics such as the Fed's interest rate dynamics and ETF approval progress, and interpret them from a local perspective. It is one of the most representative content creators in the encryption track on the current Korean YouTube platform. (YouTube: @cobacknam)
In addition, there are some non-local KOLs, such as @delucinator in the English community, @Jinrong_web3 in the Chinese community, and @kodaiGrow in the Japanese community on X, who have been paying attention to and deeply analyzing the Korean market for a long time and outputting high-value opinions.
7.4 Community Channels
The top two popular channels in the Telegram community are "WeCryptoTogether" and "취미생활방 (@enjoymyhobby)", which are private communities with high activity and communication power.
We are fortunate to have invited the operator of "enjoymyhobby" @KimYoungTaek. Through the interview, we got the following key points of "user-channel-market":
Driving force behind trading volume growth: Regarding the 200% increase in trading volume over the past three years, Mr. Kim believes that "cultural factors are the main factor", which also reflects the high adaptability of Korean users to mobile applications and digital finance, as well as the strong interest of emerging investors in crypto assets.
Core User Portrait: Regarding the characteristics of the main users aged 20-35, Mr. Kim believes that they have "an agile 'just do it' mentality", "emotionally driven, pursuing brands or cute aesthetics" and "pursuing returns, entering and exiting quickly", which shows that he is very interested in this group's flexible and experience-oriented investment style.
High-leverage trading craze: Regarding the issue of "preference for high-leverage derivatives trading", Mr. Kim believes that "when KOLs publish proof of profit from futures trading or participating in airdrops, and show posts such as "earning 200% profit with 5x leverage", fans tend to have a strong FOMO emotion. This description emphasizes the role of the timeliness of community information sharing in driving trading decisions.
Influence of KOL and local media: Regarding the influence of KOL and local media on user decision-making, Mr. Kim believes that "KOL acts as a bridge to bridge the information gap." KOL can analyze projects and influence investment trends. They play an important role in information transmission and user trust building.
7.5 Other Promotional Channels
In addition to global platforms such as X, Discord, and Telegram that are widely used in the cryptocurrency industry, the Korean market also has its own unique channels for information dissemination and community operations.
KakaoTalk Open Chat Room: The most widely used instant messaging application in South Korea, with MAU reaching 48 million by the end of 2023, covering almost all citizens. The chat room is limited to 1,500 people, with relatively simple functions, the community tends to discuss prices and market conditions, and the participation of on-chain services is low
Coinpan: South Korea's largest crypto community website, with an MAU of 5.3 million in 2023 and a peak daily post volume of 8,636. Discussions focus on centralized exchange currencies and profit sharing.
DCInside: An anonymous discussion platform with galleries for Bitcoin, Altcoin, NFT, etc. Most of the posts are short-term speculative discussions, and topics with long-term technical value are relatively scarce.
7.6 Promotion Suggestions
(1) Interface accessibility and low product barriers are core competitiveness:
Quick start: Korean users are highly sensitive to operational convenience and interface habits. Projects should focus on being "newbie-friendly" to create getting started guides, lazy packages, and zero-threshold tools to reduce the cost of first-time participation.
Channel diversion: Using native mobile channels such as KakaoTalk and mini programs to embed educational and promotional content can help break through user migration barriers and improve local user retention rates.
(2) Trust combined with aesthetics to provide instant satisfaction
Build a strong sense of trust: Through systematic brand building and authoritative endorsements, such as UPbit, Bithumb, and local IP cooperation, create an "intuitively trustworthy" first impression.
Emphasis on visual-driven experience: Targeting millennials and Generation Z, it focuses on UI/UX design, IP linkage and anthropomorphic packaging to enhance emotional resonance and brand identity.
Instant gratification mechanism: adapted to the "just do it" mentality of users aged 20-35, it adopts one-click participation, limited-time airdrops, blind box interactions and other forms to improve conversion efficiency and spreadability.
(3) Local media and KOL matrix drives market penetration
Link up with the media and local KOLs to ensure that information can be quickly interpreted, disseminated and trusted, while avoiding over-exaggeration of benefits and potential regulatory and public opinion risks.
8. Market supervision in South Korea
2017: The South Korean government intervenes in the cryptocurrency market for the first time, banning foreign investors from opening accounts on local exchanges in an effort to curb international speculation.
2018: A blanket ban on ICOs aimed at preventing fraud and excessive speculation led several South Korean blockchain projects to relocate their funding to Singapore.
2019: The Specified Financial Transaction Information Act was amended to require virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to register and comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and KYC regulations.
2021: Plans to tax personal cryptocurrency gains begin, with eventual implementation in 2024 to boost tax revenue.
2024:
Strengthen anti-money laundering and stablecoin supervision: Implement new regulations requiring all VASPs to submit compliance reports and undergo anti-money laundering audits.
Innovation support and blockchain ecosystem development: Establish a national blockchain innovation center to promote the application of blockchain technology.
Regulatory exploration of emerging areas: Release the "Decentralized Financial Regulatory Guidelines" to strengthen the supervision of DeFi protocols.
Tax policy adjustments: revise the cryptocurrency tax bill, increase the tax threshold, and implement a tiered tax rate mechanism.
Green Blockchain Initiative: Advancing carbon neutrality in the cryptocurrency industry and supporting mining farms that use renewable energy.
9. Participation of traditional Korean companies
9.1 Kakao
Kakao has become a core force in promoting the development of South Korea's crypto industry. It is not only deeply involved in the construction of exchanges and public chains, but is also actively planning future layouts.
UPbit Exchange: Through its subsidiary Dunamu, Kakao launched UPbit in 2017, which quickly became one of the largest cryptocurrency trading platforms in South Korea.
Kaia: It is a Layer 1 blockchain platform formed by the merger of Klaytn of Korean Internet giant Kakao and Finschia of Japanese communication platform LINE in 2024. It is committed to building Asia's leading Web3 infrastructure.
9.2 Samsung
As a Korean technology giant, Samsung is driving cutting-edge technology to fully penetrate the encryption ecosystem, building a complete value chain covering both on-chain and off-chain, from underlying hardware to enterprise platforms to personal devices:
Blockchain technology research and development: Samsung SDS, an IT company under Samsung, has set up a blockchain department and developed an enterprise-level blockchain platform Nexledger, which has high performance, strong security and multi-chain compatibility. It supports smart contracts and multiple consensus mechanisms and is widely used in finance, government, manufacturing and other fields.
Cryptocurrency wallet: Samsung has integrated a cryptocurrency wallet into its Galaxy S10 smartphone, which supports multiple cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. The wallet uses private key management technology to improve the accessibility of asset management. Samsung has also cooperated with multiple blockchain projects to promote the application of blockchain technology in mobile devices.
ASIC mining machine manufacturing: Samsung produces ASIC mining machines through its semiconductor division to provide hardware support for cryptocurrency mining. In 2016, Samsung Semiconductor's revenue was approximately US$50 billion; by 2017 (the year of the crypto bull market), revenue grew to US$65.3 billion, an increase of approximately 30%, mainly from the production and foundry of Bitcoin-specific ASIC mining chips.
Samsung SDS blockchain use case (source: Samsung)
9.3 Participation of other chaebol groups
South Korea's large chaebols are actively deploying in the field of cryptocurrency and blockchain:
SK Group: Through its investment subsidiary SK Square, it plans to issue its own cryptocurrency and has become the second largest shareholder of the cryptocurrency exchange Korbit.
Nexon (NXC): Acquired 65% of Korbit Exchange and actively deployed in the blockchain and cryptocurrency fields. At the same time, its MapleStory game issued tokens.
Shinhan Financial Group: Its subsidiary Shinhan Capital is considering investing in Korbit to further expand its business in the blockchain and cryptocurrency fields.
10. Analysis of future trends in the Korean market
10.1 Investor Confidence and Market Sentiment
The overall sentiment in the Korean market is cautious, with a clear split in confidence. 75% of investors are optimistic about Bitcoin, but at the same time, 46% of respondents are worried or extremely worried, only 24.7% are optimistic, and the remaining 29.3% are neutral, reflecting the market's vigilance against high volatility.
In terms of Altcoin, 36.7% of respondents expect the "Altcoin Season" to arrive in the third quarter of 2025, indicating that investors are looking forward to the phased recovery of non-mainstream assets. Overall, market sentiment is characterized by "strong expectations for main currencies, partial recovery of altcoins, and intensified sentiment differentiation."
10.2 Scale Growth and User Popularization
Market size expansion: According to Grand View Research, the Korean encryption market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 16.1% from 2025 to 2030, with revenue expected to increase from US$264.3 million in 2024 to US$635.4 million in 2030.
User base breakthrough: Industry analysts believe that by the end of 2025, the market users may reach 20 million, accounting for nearly 40% of the total population.
South Korea Crypto Market Forecast 2018-2030 (US$M) (source: Horizon)
10.3 Technology and Ecological Innovation
South Korea's crypto ecosystem is moving from the basic chain and transaction stage to the era of diversification and compliance. Looking ahead, three tracks are particularly worthy of attention:
DeFi and Layer2 Drivers
Faced with the external environment of "political uncertainty driving the demand for self-custody of funds" and the pressure of rising safe-haven demand driven by the depreciation of the Korean won, DeFi has become a rational option for capital flight and value-added. In 2024, the global DeFi TVL surged 211% to US$214 billion. Layer-2 solutions also carry more and more DeFi liquidity through their high throughput and low cost characteristics.
Deep integration of AI and blockchain
South Korean telecom giants and research institutions have simultaneously incorporated AI, 5G and blockchain into their digital transformation paths. SK Telecom's integration projects of AI, 5G, decentralized identity (DID) and NFT/DAO have been piloted in Seoul and Busan, and user penetration is expected to exceed 15% in 2025.
RWA asset tokenization track
In order to hedge the volatility of local currencies and traditional assets, the global economic environment tends to be turbulent under the background of intensified trade frictions and geopolitical uncertainties. The characteristics of the Korean market also determine that RWA tokenization and the entertainment industry will be the main driving force for the expansion of Web3 in Korea. At the same time, stablecoins are also accelerating their development. Lee Jae-myung advocates that "the Korean won stablecoin market should be established as soon as possible." At present, Korean gold, copyright, real estate, etc. have gradually developed on the chain.
10.4 Product and System Evolution: ETF and the Involvement of Financial Institutions
In 2025, the Korea Stock Exchange has clearly stated its plan to "explore the issuance of cryptocurrency ETFs" to meet the incremental demand of institutional investors and keep pace with global market trends. Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank and others have launched pilot projects for crypto asset custody and cross-border payments, and NH Investment Securities, Woori Bank and others are also promoting STO and asset tokenization projects.
11. Cryptocurrency policy under the new president
In June 2025, Lee Jae-myung officially took office as the 21st President of South Korea, and his "crypto-friendly" stance was quickly transformed into policy implementation. Unlike his predecessors who lagged behind in reform, Lee Jae-myung immediately promoted the "second phase of crypto asset legislation" upon taking office, accelerating the construction of a digital asset framework that emphasizes both compliance and innovation.
11.1 High-level consensus and policy priorities
Lee Jae-myung and several major candidates have reached a "cross-party encryption commitment" during the campaign, supporting institutional innovations including spot ETFs, Korean won stablecoins, and STOs. The new government focuses on promoting three major directions:
Launch a tiered licensing system to clarify the boundaries of various types of crypto businesses;
Launch the blockchain special zone plan to accelerate the implementation of pilot projects;
Promote legislation on stablecoin pegged to the Korean won and strengthen financial sovereignty.
11.2 ETF and Korean Won Stablecoin Dual Drive
The government has initiated negotiations with exchanges on the trading mechanism of Bitcoin spot ETFs, with the goal of attracting institutions such as pension funds to enter the market and lowering the threshold for retail investors. At the same time, South Korea is promoting stablecoin legislation around the "internationalization of the Korean won", encouraging banks and digital asset institutions to jointly issue Korean won stablecoins, and promoting cross-border settlement pilots in combination with CBDC infrastructure.
This two-wheel strategy aims to hedge the risk of capital outflow from US dollar stablecoins and enhance the status of the Korean won in the Asian fintech ecosystem.
11.3 Tax Adjustment and Regulatory Upgrade
The 20% capital gains tax originally scheduled to be implemented in 2025 has been postponed to 2027, and the tax exemption has been raised to 50 million won. The government also plans to impose a 6%-42% comprehensive income tax on high-frequency traders and study the on-chain wallet reporting mechanism, trying to curb "shadow trading" while encouraging compliance.
In addition, the STO pilot mechanism has been launched, allowing some project parties to legally issue security tokens and open up a new track for on-chain finance.
11.4 Policy dividends and platform reshuffle
The new policy will benefit platforms such as Upbit that already have compliance capabilities, and may further strengthen their market dominance. Small and medium-sized exchanges face the risk of liquidation if they cannot meet technical and risk control requirements. Overseas platforms such as Binance and KuCoin need to deal with the problem of limited traffic caused by tightening local policies.
The Lee Jae-myung government is using ETFs and stablecoins as a starting point to reshape the infrastructure of the Korean crypto market; through tax reforms and regulatory sandboxes, it is leaving institutional space for industrial innovation. South Korea is steadily moving towards a digital asset powerhouse with transparent systems and inclusive markets.
Driven by active local capital, universal participation and policy relaxation, South Korea is rapidly emerging as a key growth pole for global crypto assets. Compared with Singapore's tightening regulation and Hong Kong and Japan's slowing pace, South Korea has shown stronger policy execution and market momentum. For project owners, there is not only a highly active user base and a clear compliance path, but also the opportunity to quickly scale up with the help of chaebol resources and local social ecology.
