South Korea crypto exchange profits fall 78% in H1 amid trading slump — SkimNews
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- Korean crypto exchanges saw operating profits fall 78% in H1 2026, according to Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) data drawn from 26 registered virtual asset service providers (17 exchange operators, 9 custody and wallet providers).
- Average daily trading volume at domestic virtual asset exchanges dropped 44% from the previous six months, while market capitalization fell 33%, won-denominated deposits declined 35%, and exchange sales fell 41% — even as eligible trading accounts edged up 0.4%.
- Korean retail crypto holdings stood at 60.6 trillion won ($41.4 billion) as of May, down 50.2% year-over-year, with ChosunBiz attributing the pullback to capital moving into domestic stocks.
- The KOSPI more than doubled over the 12 months to July 22, while combined average daily volume across Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax fell roughly 89% year-over-year in comparable seven-day windows, per a July Cointelegraph analysis.
- KoFIU's survey covered activity from Jan. 1 through June 30, 2026, and Cointelegraph reached out to Bithumb and Upbit operator Dunamu for comment on the figures.
Why it matters: Exchange operators like Upbit and Bithumb are absorbing a simultaneous 44% volume drop, 35% deposit decline, and 41% sales fall — a combined squeeze that explains the 78% operating-profit collapse, while Korean retail is rotating that same capital into a KOSPI that has more than doubled in 12 months, reshaping the country's risk-asset landscape.
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