Crypto investors surge in South Korea amid market optimism
South Korea crypto investors reached 15.59M in November
South Korea's cryptocurrency market has experienced a sharp rise in new investors, driven by growing optimism over U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pro-cryptocurrency policies.
According to data provided by the Bank of Korea, the number of cryptocurrency investors in South Korea reached 15.59 million by the end of November, an increase of 610,000 from October.
This figure includes investors with accounts on the nation’s top five cryptocurrency exchanges — Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX. However, the data accounts for duplicates where a single investor may hold accounts on multiple platforms. Simplified calculations suggest that over 30% of South Korea’s population is now engaged in cryptocurrency trading.
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This marks the first time the Bank of Korea has disclosed such comprehensive statistics on the cryptocurrency market. The data was collected in compliance with the Virtual Asset User Protection Act, implemented in July 2024, which requires operators to submit detailed market reports.
Cryptocurrency market growth accelerates
The number of investors had been steadily increasing, with monthly gains of approximately 100,000 from July through October. However, growth surged in November as Bitcoin prices jumped from 100 million won ($75,000) at the end of October to 135.8 million won ($102,000) by the end of November.
Total cryptocurrency holdings by domestic investors amounted to 102.6 trillion won ($76.7 billion) at the end of November, a sharp increase from the consistent levels of around 58 trillion won in previous months. This equates to an average holding of 6.58 million won ($4,920) per investor, a significant rise from 3.87 million won ($2,890) in October.
Deposits held on exchanges, representing idle investment capital, also grew significantly to 8.8 trillion won ($6.58 billion) by the end of November, nearly double the amount reported in previous months.
Trading volume rivals stock market
Daily cryptocurrency trading volumes on South Korea’s exchanges averaged 14.9 trillion won ($11.1 billion) in November, nearly matching the combined trading volume of the KOSPI and KOSDAQ stock markets during the same period.
It is worth noting that South Korea’s Democratic Party recently reversed its position on the country’s cryptocurrency income tax, agreeing to postpone its implementation until 2027.
