Odaily Planet Daily News Long before the global cryptocurrency boom pushed Bitcoin to an all-time high in early 2024, South Korean retail investors flocked to local digital asset exchanges. According to the semi-annual report on crypto asset business released by the South Korean Financial Intelligence Service (KOFIU), the number of active users of registered exchanges in the country increased by 390,000 to 6.45 million by the end of 2023. These users account for more than 10% of the country's total population, 99% of whom are identified as "individual" investors, and nearly 60% are in their thirties and forties. During this period, the country's average daily cryptocurrency trading volume increased by 24% to 3.6 trillion won (US$2.6 billion), while the total value of cryptocurrencies held by registered exchanges soared by 53% to 43.6 trillion won. In addition, in the first quarter of 2024, the won surpassed the US dollar to become the world's largest fiat currency for crypto asset trading. Upbit is the country's dominant exchange, sometimes ranking among the top five in the world by trading volume. (Bloomberg)