Domestic Virtual Asset Market Shrinks 33% Amid Crypto Winter; Exchanges' Operating Profit Plunges 78%

The total valuation of South Korea's virtual asset market fell by more than 30% in the first half of this year, while exchanges' operating profit and loss plunged by 78%.
According to the '2026 First-Half Survey of Virtual Asset Service Providers' released on the 1st by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Financial Supervisory Service, the total valuation of virtual assets in South Korea stood at 58.9 trillion won at the end of June. This was down 28.3 trillion won, or 33%, from the end of last year. Total valuation is calculated by multiplying the amount of virtual assets held in South Korea by their market prices.
The average daily trading volume in the first half was 3.1 trillion won, down 2.3 trillion won, or 44%, from the second half of last year. Won-denominated deposits held by users at exchanges also declined 35%, from 8.1 trillion won to 5.2 trillion won.
Exchange performance also deteriorated as trading contracted. Operating profit and loss at virtual asset exchanges, excluding wallet and custody providers, fell 78% from 374.8 billion won in the second half of last year to 81.6 billion won in the first half of this year. Revenue also declined 41% over the same period.
The market continued to be dominated by KRW markets. Their total valuation was 58.5 trillion won, accounting for 99.4% of the overall market. Coin markets had a total valuation of 330 billion won, or just 0.6% of the total.
There was also a significant gap in trading activity between the two markets. The monthly trading turnover ratio ranged from 100% to 201% in KRW markets, while it remained between 2% and 9% in coin markets. The trading turnover ratio is calculated by dividing trading volume over a given period by users' entrusted assets.
A total of 673 types of virtual assets were in circulation in South Korea, excluding duplicates, down by 39 types, or 5%, from the end of last year. Of these, 234 were virtual assets listed on only one domestic exchange.
The total valuation of virtual assets listed on only one exchange was 600 billion won, roughly 1% of the overall total valuation. However, 93 types, or 40% of them, had a total valuation of 100 million won or less. Their average price decline from their peaks was 77%, higher than the 69% average for all virtual assets.
The number of user accounts eligible for trading stood at 11.175 million, up by 49,000, or 0.4%, from the end of last year. The number of accounts holding virtual assets worth less than 1 million won rose by 370,000 to 8.63 million. The age group with the largest number of users also shifted from those in their 30s to those in their 40s.
The survey covered 26 of the 28 registered providers as of the end of June that submitted data. The FIU and the Financial Supervisory Service explained that the findings are quantitative data compiled from information submitted by the providers and do not constitute nationally approved statistics.

[email protected] Lee Jung-hwa Reporter