According to Tiger Research, about 15% of South Korea's population (7.78 million) trade digital assets. In Q1 2024, there were more cryptocurrency transactions involving the Korean won than the dollar. In Q2 and Q3, it ranked second, maintaining its lead over the euro and yen.
Analysts found that about 70% of all transactions took place on the country's largest crypto exchange, Upbit. Bitcoin was the most popular trading instrument during the first three quarters, but XRP and DOGE overtook digital gold at the end of the year.
As of March 2024, local users overpaid up to 10.32% to buy cryptocurrencies. This spread between local and international prices, which is typical for the South Korean market, is called the "kimchi premium."
According to Chainalysis' Crypto Adoption Index, South Korea ranks 33rd in the world in terms of cryptocurrency adoption. Canada is in 32nd place, China is in 34th place.
Recall that in November, South Korean authorities discovered that the Upbit exchange had committed up to 600,000 KYC violations.
