South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges suffered a sharp deterioration in the first half of 2026, with operating profits falling 78% as trading activity, market capitalization and customer deposits all declined. The figures point to a weaker operating environment for the country’s digital-asset industry, despite a small increase in the number of customers eligible to trade.
According to Cointelegraph, the data was released by South Korea’s Korea Financial Intelligence Unit, or KoFIU, on Thursday. Its review covered activity between Jan. 1 and June 30 and included 26 registered virtual asset service providers: 17 exchange operators and nine companies providing custody and wallet services.
Trading activity and exchange revenue weaken
Average daily trading volume at domestic virtual asset exchanges dropped 44% compared with the previous six-month period. The decline was accompanied by a 33% fall in overall crypto market capitalization and a 35% reduction in deposits denominated in South Korean won.
Exchange sales fell 41% over the same comparison period. Operating profits declined even more sharply, dropping 78%. The results indicate that the industry faced pressure not only from lower trading activity, but also from a smaller asset base and less money held on platforms.
The number of accounts eligible to trade increased by 0.4%, suggesting that the deterioration was not caused by a broad disappearance of registered trading accounts. Instead, the data shows a market in which slightly more eligible users were operating against substantially lower volumes and deposits.
Investors turn more attention to stocks
The government figures come as South Korean retail investors appear to be shifting some attention away from crypto and toward domestic equities. In May, the value of cryptocurrency held by South Korean investors had fallen 50.2% over roughly one year to 60.6 trillion won, equivalent to $41.4 billion.
South Korean outlet ChosunBiz connected that decline with capital moving toward stocks. Cointelegraph reported in July that the combined average daily trading volume at Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax had fallen about 89% year over year across comparable seven-day periods. Over the 12 months to July 22, South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI stock index had more than doubled.
The comparison highlights the contrast between crypto and equities during the period: crypto exchanges recorded weaker turnover, while the country’s main stock-market benchmark posted a substantial gain. Cointelegraph said it contacted Bithumb and Dunamu, the operator of Upbit, for comment.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar market data at the stated times showed mixed performance among the listed crypto assets:
- CAP was priced at $0.0718206744 at 09:19 on Oct. 3, 2026, up 7.11% over 24 hours and 39.72% over seven days.
- PRO stood at $0.3623882289 at 02:04 on Oct. 3, down 0.7% in 24 hours but up 4.53% over seven days.
- DEP was $0.0009897724 at 21:13 on Aug. 20, down 0.07% over 24 hours and 0.42% over seven days.
- ORE traded at $114.3367036058 at 09:18 on Oct. 3, down 7.62% over 24 hours but up 38.03% over seven days.
These figures provide a snapshot of the selected assets and are separate from KoFIU’s nationwide measures of exchange activity, deposits and profitability.
