South Korea's Virtual Asset Market Shrinks 33% in First Half of 2026

According to data from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) reported by Yonhap, South Korea's virtual asset market capitalization fell to 58.9 trillion KRW (approximately 43.4 billion USD) by the end of June 2026, a 33% decline from 87.2 trillion KRW six months prior. Daily trading volume dropped from 5.4 trillion KRW to 3.1 trillion KRW, and total KRW deposits by traders decreased by 35% to 5.2 trillion KRW. Despite the market contraction, the number of users saw a slight increase of 0.4% to approximately 11.17 million. As of the end of June, there were 26 registered virtual asset operators in the country, including 17 crypto exchanges.