"1 in 4 Koreans Owns Cryptocurrency… More Than Americans" [Hankyung Koala]

One in four Korean adults currently owns cryptocurrency.

According to Hashed Open Research, a think tank of blockchain investment firm Hashed, 25% of Korean adults own cryptocurrency. This surpasses the United States, where the figure is 19%. The survey was conducted on 2,000 adult internet users in their 20s to 60s.

Among all respondents, 25% (507 people) said they are currently investing in cryptocurrency. Notably, 54% of those in their 30s have experience investing in cryptocurrency. The figure was 43% for those in their 40s, followed by 38.8% in their 20s, 33.2% in their 50s, and 19.0% in their 60s.

The most common response regarding the amount of cryptocurrency currently held was 'more than 1 million won but less than 5 million won,' accounting for 25% of respondents. 'Less than 500,000 won' was 20.5%, while 'more than 5 million won but less than 10 million won' and 'more than 10 million won but less than 50 million won' were 15.2% and 16.6%, respectively. Those who reported holding more than 100 million won in cryptocurrency were 3.6%.

Additionally, 11.4% of all respondents said, "I am not currently investing in cryptocurrency but plan to do so in the future."

Among the 507 respondents who identified as domestic cryptocurrency investors, 123 (24.5%) said they use overseas cryptocurrency exchanges or decentralized exchanges (DEX). Of the respondents, 54% had more than 20% of their cryptocurrency deposited in overseas exchanges or DEX. Among those holding more than 100 million won in cryptocurrency, 5 out of 8 said they have more than 50% of their assets deposited in overseas exchanges or DEX.

Hashed Open Research analyzed that the barriers to entry for cryptocurrency investment are lower than for stocks or real estate, and the potential for high returns is causing investment to rapidly become mainstream.

More than half (51%) of cryptocurrency investors cited the expectation of higher short-term returns compared to other assets as their reason for investing. Recommendations from acquaintances (47%), the convenience of deposits and withdrawals (39%), and the ability to trade 24/7 (23%) were also cited as reasons for investing.

The main sources of funds for cryptocurrency investors were spare funds (64%) and earned income (57%). A representative from Hashed Open Research stated, "Cryptocurrency investment is becoming mainstream and the investment base is expanding," adding, "This seems to be an irreversible trend of the times." They further stated, "As many countries are institutionalizing cryptocurrency, Korea also needs to quickly legislate cryptocurrency."

Reporter Jo Mi-hyeon mwise@hankyung.com