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Upbit cryptocurrency exchange (Photo courtesy of Dunamu) |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] While South Korea’s stock market continues to post robust gains, the domestic cryptocurrency market is showing signs of cooling, with trading activity declining sharply.
According to data from CoinGecko, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, recorded USD 1.86 billion in 24-hour trading volume as of 8 p.m. on January 31, ranking 26th globally.
Other domestic exchanges ranked significantly lower. Bithumb placed 46th, Korbit ranked 80th, while Coinone and Gopax fell outside the global top 100.
Upbit had ranked as high as third or fourth globally in trading volume last year, alongside major exchanges such as Binance, but has recently slipped out of the global top 20.
Overall trading volume in South Korea’s cryptocurrency market has now fallen to roughly one-tenth of that seen in the country’s KOSPI and KOSDAQ stock markets, underscoring the sharp divergence in momentum between traditional equities and digital assets.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
