Chainalysis: "South Korea's Crypto Economy Worth $449.1 Billion, Largest in East Asia"

[Financial News] A report has found that South Korea's crypto economy is worth $449.1 billion, the largest among East Asian countries. Crypto-asset trading related to artificial intelligence (AI) was particularly prominent.
According to the crypto industry on the 6th, South Korea's crypto economy totaled $449.1 billion from July last year to June this year, up 12.3% from the same period a year earlier, according to the East Asia Crypto Adoption Report released by blockchain data platform Chainalysis. Crypto-asset activity through domestic exchanges also increased by 16.3%. Japan recorded $228.3 billion, followed by Hong Kong at $192.2 billion, China at $176.3 billion and Taiwan at $140.4 billion.
As of June this year, AI-related crypto assets accounted for approximately 18% of all won-denominated crypto-asset trading, the highest share among major thematic assets.
Among AI-related crypto assets, Worldcoin recorded the highest trading volume at $7.41 billion, followed by Sahara AI at $3.2 billion, Virtuals Protocol at $2.7 billion, Bio Protocol at $2 billion and NEAR Protocol at $1.7 billion.
Chainalysis analyzed that trading led by individual investors drove market growth while major domestic financial institutions had yet to enter the market in earnest. It projected that participation patterns among individual and institutional investors could change if the government gradually allows corporations to participate in the crypto market and introduces taxation of crypto-asset income in 2027.
Kwon Jun-hyeok, head of Chainalysis Korea, said, "South Korea is a market where individual investors are highly active, and this report also clearly showed strong interest in AI-related crypto assets and rapid shifts in preferences. As corporate and institutional participation in the market expands, South Korea's crypto market is expected to become even more diverse."
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, fund inflows through platforms for institutional investors accounted for 16% of total inflows to crypto-asset services. In Japan, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) accounted for 34.5% of the overall market.
[email protected] Lim Sang-hyeok Reporter