In the second half of 2023, the market capitalization of South Korean virtual assets surged to 43.6 trillion won ($32.4 billion), driven by a significant rise in virtual asset prices, particularly Bitcoin, which surpassed $74,000, leading to increased investor sentiment and trading volumes across the market.
On May 16, the Korean Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) under the Financial Services Commission released the survey results of the virtual asset market status for the second half of 2023. The survey targeted 22 S. Korean exchanges and 7 wallet and custodial service providers.
According to a survey, the market capitalization of South Korean virtual assets in the second half of last year increased by a staggering 53% ($11.2 billion) compared to the first half.
The transaction volume, market capitalization, operating profit, and KRW (Korean Currency) deposits for virtual assets all saw increases.
This trend is attributed to the recovery in investor sentiment across the entire virtual asset market, driven by the sharp rise in prices ahead of the launch of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The price of Bitcoin rose 39% from $30,477 at the end of Jun. 2023 to $42,265 at the end of December.
The average daily trading volume of domestic virtual assets increased by 24% to $2.6 billion compared to the first half. KRW deposits increased by 21% to $3.6 billion.
The average daily trading volume in the KRW market rose 24% to $2.6 billion, while the trading volume in the coin market decreased by 44% to $30,000. Coin market refers to the market where one can exchange crypto with coins only not using national currency like dollars or Korean won.
