Catenaa, Friday, October 03, 2025-South Koreans are increasingly using overseas crypto exchanges as domestic trading volumes decline, a report by the Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service shows.
Data from 17 exchanges, eight custody platforms, and crypto wallets for H1 2025 reveal $56.2 billion moved abroad, a 4% increase.
While user numbers grew 11% to 10.77 million, most aged 30–39, KRW deposits fell 42% to $4.4 billion, reflecting reduced standby trading funds. Crypto-to-fiat trading dropped 12%, while crypto-to-crypto surged 286%. Domestic market capitalization fell 14%, compared to a 7% drop overseas.
Exchanges like Upbit have added more tokens to boost trading volumes, with listings rising from 181 to 1,538. However, 43% of these coins have market caps below $71,000, highlighting liquidity and volatility risks.
Customer withdrawals grew 5% to $72.4 billion, while assets under management at domestic custody and wallet operators dropped 50%, with user numbers down 41%.
The report notes that geopolitical tensions and global tariff disputes have affected investor sentiment.
Overseas corporate crypto buying drove Bitcoin prices, but retail participation weakened, producing mixed results for other tokens.
Low-cap “kimchi coins” continue to decline, down 3% over six months, as domestic exchanges increasingly list overseas coins already active abroad instead of riskier local projects.
Analysts say this trend reflects growing caution and competition with international platforms.
