Korean Crypto Exchanges Feel the Won-der Downturn: Profits Crater 78% 📉

Operating profits at South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges plunged 78% in the first half of 2026 as trading activity, market valuations and customer deposits all declined, according to new government data. The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) reported on Thursday that average daily trading volume at domestic virtual asset exchanges fell 44% from the previous six months, while market capitalization dropped 33% and won-denominated deposits fell 35%. Exchange sales declined 41% over the same period, even as the number of accounts eligible to trade rose slightly by 0.4%.

KoFIU's survey covered 26 registered virtual asset service providers, including 17 exchange operators and nine custody and wallet providers, with figures drawn from activity between Jan. 1 and June 30. The data arrives alongside evidence that South Korean retail investors have been rotating capital out of crypto and into the country's equity markets. In May, the value of crypto held by South Korean investors fell 50.2% to 60.6 trillion won ($41.4 billion) over roughly a year, a decline Korean outlet ChosunBiz linked to capital moving toward stocks.

A Cointelegraph analysis in July found that combined average daily volume across Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax had fallen about 89% year over year during comparable seven-day periods, while the KOSPI, South Korea's benchmark stock index, more than doubled over the 12 months to July 22. Cointelegraph contacted Bithumb and Upbit operator Dunamu for comment. The KoFIU figures also follow South Korea's recent decision to drop the Travel Rule threshold for crypto transfers, a move that lowers compliance requirements on smaller transactions.