Korea's crypto economy put at $449.1bn, largest in East Asia, Chainalysis says
Version 2: A third outlet, Newsis, carried the same Chainalysis finding in its headline with a slightly different won conversion, about 603 trillion won against Yonhap's 604 trillion; no new figures or claims emerged.
In short
Chainalysis estimates South Korea's crypto economy at $449.1 billion (about 604 trillion won) for the year to June, up 12.3% from a year earlier and the largest in East Asia, ahead of Japan's $228.3 billion. Activity on domestic exchanges rose 16.3% and exchange-related fund flows grew by $51.1 billion, driven by individual investors while major financial institutions have yet to enter in earnest. AI-related tokens took about 18% of won-denominated trading, the highest share among theme assets, with Worldcoin the most traded at $7.41 billion.
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Chainalysis estimated South Korea's crypto economy at $449.1 billion for the period from July of last year to June of this year, up 12.3% from the same period a year earlier, Yonhap reported. Electronic Times carried the same figure. Yonhap said the amount is about 604 trillion won, while the Newsis headline put it at about 603 trillion won. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The estimate is the largest in East Asia, ahead of Japan at $228.3 billion, Hong Kong at $192.2 billion, China at $176.3 billion and Taiwan at $140.4 billion, according to the two outlets that carried the comparison. Electronic Times noted South Korea's figure was about twice Japan's. [ 1 , 2 ]
Activity through domestic exchanges rose 16.3% year on year in the same period, and exchange-related fund flows increased by $51.1 billion, the reports said. Chainalysis attributed growth to individual investors, saying major financial institutions have not yet entered the market in earnest. [ 1 , 2 ]
AI-related crypto assets were the largest theme category in won-denominated trading, at about 18%, ahead of payment tokens such as XRP, according to Electronic Times. Electronic Times dated the figure to June of this year; Yonhap dated it to June of last year. Electronic Times added that the AI share in won trading was 19.5 times that in yen trading and also exceeded shares in Brazilian real, British pound and euro trading. [ 1 , 2 ]
Electronic Times reported Worldcoin (WLD) as the most traded AI-related asset at $7.41 billion, followed by Sahara AI at $3.2 billion, Virtuals Protocol at $2.7 billion, Bio Protocol at $2.0 billion and Near Protocol at $1.7 billion. It said Virtuals Protocol and KAITO led trading last year, while Worldcoin and Sahara AI emerged as the leading assets this year, which Chainalysis read as Korean retail investors rotating preferences faster than in other markets studied. [ 1 ]
Chainalysis Korea head Kwon Jun-hyuk said Korean individual investors are active and showed clear interest and rapid preference shifts in AI-related crypto assets, adding that broader participation by companies and institutions is expected to make the domestic market more diverse, Electronic Times reported. Chainalysis pointed to wider corporate participation and crypto income taxation scheduled for 2027 as factors that could affect how individuals and institutional investors take part. Major Korean banks and securities firms have digital-asset units running pilot projects in stablecoins, tokenisation and custody, but corporate participation for investment purposes has not yet started in earnest, according to Electronic Times. [ 1 ]
Yonhap also reported other findings from the East Asia report: institutional platform inflows accounted for 16% of total crypto service inflows in Hong Kong, decentralised exchanges made up 34.5% of Japan's crypto service market, and an estimated 59.1% of China's crypto economy came from person-to-person flows. [ 2 ]
Why it matters
The estimate puts South Korea ahead of Japan, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan in crypto activity, with growth led by retail rather than institutions. Chainalysis flags wider corporate participation and crypto income taxation due in 2027 as the changes that could reshape who trades in the market. The concentration in AI-themed tokens makes Korean retail exposure sensitive to that sector's performance.
Key facts
- Chainalysis estimated South Korea's crypto economy at $449.1 billion for July of last year through June of this year, up 12.3% year on year. [ 1 , 2 ]
- That is the largest in East Asia, ahead of Japan at $228.3 billion, Hong Kong at $192.2 billion, China at $176.3 billion and Taiwan at $140.4 billion, according to the report. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Activity through domestic exchanges rose 16.3% year on year and exchange-related fund flows increased by $51.1 billion. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Chainalysis said individual investors drove growth while major financial institutions have not yet entered the market in earnest. [ 1 , 2 ]
- AI-related crypto assets accounted for about 18% of won-denominated trading, the highest share among theme assets and above payment tokens such as XRP, according to Electronic Times. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Worldcoin (WLD) was the most traded AI-related asset at $7.41 billion, followed by Sahara AI at $3.2 billion, Virtuals Protocol at $2.7 billion, Bio Protocol at $2.0 billion and Near Protocol at $1.7 billion. [ 1 ]
- The share of AI-related assets in won trading was 19.5 times that in yen trading, and also above shares in Brazilian real, British pound and euro trading. [ 1 ]
- Chainalysis cited wider corporate participation and crypto income taxation scheduled for 2027 as factors that could change participation by individuals and institutions. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Chainalysis reported South Korea's crypto economy at $449.1 billion for the year to June, up 12.3% from the same period a year earlier and the largest in East Asia. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Activity on domestic exchanges rose 16.3% year on year, with exchange-related fund flows up $51.1 billion. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The report attributes growth to individual investors, saying major financial institutions have not yet entered the market in earnest. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Chainalysis reported that AI-related crypto assets had the highest share among theme assets in won-denominated trading, at about 18%. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- The reference date for the 18% AI-related share: Electronic Times says it is as of June this year, while Yonhap says as of June last year. The two documents give different dates for the same figure from the same report.
- The won conversion of the $449.1 billion estimate: Yonhap gives about 604 trillion won, while the Newsis headline says 603 trillion won. The outlets differ slightly on the same conversion, with no explanation given.
- Whether the individual AI token trading volumes and the 19.5-times-yen comparison are in the report as stated. These details appear only in the Electronic Times article; Yonhap does not mention them.
- The Newsis item carried only a headline matching the crypto report; its article text was about an unrelated subject. The business outlet's coverage of this event is limited to its feed headline, so its details could not be checked against the article.