Economy
At a glance
The financial authorities' first-half survey found a slight increase in accounts eligible to trade crypto assets in Korea, but sharp declines in the value of holdings and trading amounts.
Account numbers count eligible accounts, while total valuation measures the monetary value of crypto assets held domestically, so the two changes are not contradictory.
The findings look back at the first-half market and do not describe current prices or signal a future recovery.
A look back at the first-half market
The Financial Intelligence Unit and the Financial Supervisory Service's survey of virtual asset service providers for the first half of 2026, released on October 1, shows a contraction in both the size of Korea's market and trading activity.
It covered 26 providers: 17 exchanges and nine wallet and custody businesses.
Two of the 28 registered providers were excluded because they did not submit data.
The survey covers January through June.
Total valuation, deposits and account numbers compare the positions at the end of 2025 and the end of June 2026.
Trading amounts and operating profit or loss compare the second half of 2025 with the first half of 2026.
These findings must be distinguished from real-time market conditions on the day of publication.
More accounts do not necessarily mean more money
Accounts eligible to trade rose from 11,126,000 to 11,175,000, an increase of 49,000, or 0.4%.
By contrast, the valuation of crypto assets held domestically fell from 87.2 trillion won to 58.9 trillion won, a decline of 28.3 trillion won.
The authorities reported a decrease of 33%.
The indicators count different things.
Account numbers measure accounts eligible to trade, not the number of people who actually traded or the amount of new money entering the market.
A person with accounts at several exchanges can be counted more than once.
Total valuation measures the monetary value of domestic holdings, so changes in prices or holdings can reduce it even as account numbers rise.
Accounts with no balance or holdings worth less than one million won also increased to 8.63 million.
Trading, deposits and exchange earnings also fell
Average daily trading fell from 5.4 trillion won to 3.1 trillion won, while won deposits declined from 8.1 trillion won to 5.2 trillion won.
The authorities reported decreases of 44% and 35%, respectively.
Trading amounts measure buying and selling over a period, while deposits measure won entrusted to exchanges.
They are separate indicators.
Exchanges' aggregate operating profit or loss fell 78%, from 374.8 billion won to 81.6 billion won.
This is why a slight increase in accounts alone cannot establish more active trading or improved profitability.
Newspim reported that providers' submissions included provisional financial figures and that some values could change as accounts are finalized.
Amounts are shown in shortened units and percentage changes use the authorities’ published figures.
Recalculations from the displayed amounts can differ.
Liquidity concerns for small, single-exchange assets
There were 234 crypto assets traded on only one domestic exchange.
Of these, 93 had a total valuation of no more than 100 million won.
The authorities highlighted the risks of limited liquidity and abrupt price changes in these assets.
A contraction in the overall market and trading conditions for individual assets need to be considered separately.
The simple average of each asset's price decline from its peak was 69% for crypto assets overall and 77% for single-exchange assets.
These figures describe price volatility during the survey period; they do not mean that every user suffered losses of those percentages.
Statistical scope and limits on forecasting
The findings compile data submitted by providers and are not nationally approved statistics.
Total valuation based on domestic holdings also differs from market capitalization calculated using worldwide circulating supply.
The survey confirms that account numbers increased while the market contracted, but it cannot by itself predict subsequent price direction or when the market will recover.