- The South Korean Won has overtaken the US dollar in global cryptocurrency trades.
- The Won’s overall trading volume in the crypto market reached $456 billion compared to the US Dollar’s $445 billion in the first quarter of 2024.
South Korean Won Becomes the Currency Most Traded with Crypto
The South Korean Won just unexpectedly surpassed the US Dollar when it came to transaction volume in the crypto market. According to research firm Kaiko, the Won was used in $456 billion worth of cryptocurrency trades in the first quarter of the year. This was notably $11 billion more than the utilization of the US dollar in the same timeframe.
For Bloomberg, this reflected the strong appetite of South Koreans for “risky crypto assets.” The boost in trading volume could also be attributed to the tight competition between the crypto exchanges operating within the country.
At present, the crypto exchanges in the nation are trying to one-up each other in terms of fees. Smaller players like Bithumb and Korbit have been particularly very aggressive in this race by even going as far as offering zero-fee trading promotions for customers. The source noted that such a tactic has been effective so far in pulling users from Upbit, which owns an 80% slice of spot trading volume in the South Korean crypto market, toward their platforms.
Unlike other jurisdictions that preferred mainstream digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), South Koreans have exhibited more fondness for altcoins primarily due to their high-risk, high-return features. The report said 80% of all activity in the Asian nation’s crypto sector consisted of altcoin dealings.
Crypto in South Korean Elections
Cryptocurrency has become one of the hottest topics in South Korea as of late. Given its rising popularity, it became a focal point during the campaign heading to the country’s 22nd general election.
During that time, politicians from both the ruling party and the opposition vowed to review and introduce amendments to the nation’s crypto regulations, especially on the subject of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The move was an obvious attempt from both sides to gain support from crypto-savvy and young voters while capitalizing on the success of these new ETF instruments.
With the opposition, the Democratic Party (DP), emerging triumphant on April 10, it remains to be seen how they will steer toward their promise when they take over as the majority in the legislature on May 30.