[Exclusive] South Korea Bitcoin Trading Volume Jumps 17-Fold in Four Months, Exchange Deposits Top $7.7 Billion

Five major exchanges post $3.27 billion in daily trading

Digital Asset Basic Act seen as key domestic variable

Daily Bitcoin trading volume in South Korea has surged more than 17-fold in about four months. The jump came as Bitcoin rebounded sharply from last month and climbed above $85,000 for the first time since January. With Bitcoin weathering a string of negative developments, some investors who had left the crypto market are returning.

Data from crypto analytics platform CoinGecko showed that daily trading volume at South Korea’s five largest cryptocurrency exchanges — Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax — reached $3.27424 billion on Sept. 22. That was up 44.7% from $2.26230 billion on Sept. 1. Compared with June 8, when volume hit this year’s low of $189.37 million, it has swelled more than 17-fold.

Buying interest began to recover in earnest last month. Data submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service to Democratic Party lawmaker Park Sang-hyuk showed that trading volume at the five exchanges totaled 65.8483 trillion won ($47.7 billion) last month. That was up 52.55% from 43.1662 trillion won in July. Average daily trading volume over the same period rose 52.5% to 2.1241 trillion won from 1.3925 trillion won.

The rebound in Bitcoin prices has been the immediate driver of the crypto market’s recovery. Upbit data showed Bitcoin rose 19.6% last month, from 90.55 million won as of 9 a.m. on Aug. 1 to 108.3 million won on Aug. 31. It climbed as high as 112.44 million won intraday on Aug. 28.

The rally is also drawing more money into the crypto market. Trading volume at the five exchanges totaled 29.7559 trillion won in the fourth week of August, spanning Aug. 22 to Aug. 28. That was nearly four times the 7.6186 trillion won recorded in the second week, from Aug. 8 to Aug. 14. As Bitcoin prices climbed sharply, customer deposits — funds parked for potential crypto investment — also increased. Deposits at the five exchanges stood at 10.6561 trillion won ($7.7 billion) at the end of last month, up 104.32% from 5.2154 trillion won in January of last year.

The simultaneous rise in trading volume and deposits suggests investors who had exited the crypto market could return more quickly. Market participants also point to the Digital Asset Basic Act, now under discussion in the National Assembly, as a key variable for the direction of South Korea’s crypto market. “Funds flowing into the crypto market are increasing, and much of the negative overhang has been cleared,” an industry official said. “The upward trend could continue for the time being. In South Korea, moves to establish related rules, including the Digital Asset Basic Act, could provide additional momentum.”

Kim Soo-hyun, Hankyung.com reporter, ksoohyun@hankyung.com