South Korea crypto trading volume plunges nearly 55% in H1

Trading volume across South Korea’s five major won-based crypto exchanges fell 54.6% year over year in the first half of 2026 as liquidity became increasingly concentrated on market leader Upbit. Summary Five major exchanges recorded $366.58 billion in first-half trading volume. Combined volume fell 54.6% year over year, according to NexBlock. Upbit expanded its July market share to 67.4% despite lower trading activity. South Korea will introduce a 22% crypto gains tax on Jan. 1, 2027. South Korea crypto volume drops below $367B Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax generated about $366.58 billion in combined trading volume during the first six months of the year, NexBlock reported. That represented a 54.6% decline from the corresponding period in 2025. The contraction continued in July. From July 1 through July 27, the five exchanges recorded cumulative trading volume of approximately 17.34 trillion won, down 16.9% from the same period in June. The figures point to weaker activity across South Korea, one of Asia’s most active retail crypto markets. They also show that lower overall volume has not affected all exchanges equally. Upbit processed about 11.69 trillion won during t...