Chainalysis reported that cryptocurrency activity attributed to South Korea reached $449.1 billion in the 12 months ending in June 2026, up 12.3% from the previous period and the highest in East Asia, according to a report published on October 5. The increase was driven by an expanding exchange ecosystem and retail investor demand for AI-related tokens.
The figures reflect on-chain asset flows linked to South Korean users, rather than the amount of crypto they hold. Over the same period, activity across East Asia declined slightly.
Korea Pulls Ahead of Regional Rivals
Japan, the second-largest market in the region, recorded $228.3 billion in cryptocurrency activity. Hong Kong was next with $192.2 billion, while China and Taiwan reached $176.3 billion and $140.4 billion, respectively, according to Chainalysis.
In South Korea, exchange-related activity grew by 16.3%, adding $51.1 billion in inflows compared to the previous period. Most of the growth was still led by retail investors, while major financial institutions have yet to participate in the market on a broad scale.
AI Tokens Lead Korea’s Thematic Trading
Tokens linked to AI projects or infrastructure accounted for about 18% of won-denominated trading volume in June 2026. At this share, AI tokens surpassed payment token groups such as XRP and led thematic asset categories in the South Korean market.
In Japan, AI tokens accounted for just 0.91% of yen-denominated trading volume in the same month, making South Korea’s share 19.5 times higher. Worldcoin recorded the highest volume at $7.41 billion over the entire survey period, followed by Sahara AI at $3.2 billion, Virtuals Protocol at $2.7 billion, Bio Protocol at $2 billion, and NEAR Protocol at $1.7 billion.
The group of favored tokens also shifted rapidly. VIRTUAL and KAITO, two prominent names in 2025, gave way to WLD and SAHARA in the new period. According to Chainalysis, this shift reflects the high velocity of capital rotation and aggressive trading intensity of South Korean retail investors toward AI-themed assets.
What the $449 Billion Figure Measures
Chainalysis calculates the scale of activity in South Korea by aggregating asset flows into crypto services, transactions between local personal wallets, and assets sent from abroad to South Korean users’ wallets. Tracked services include centralized exchanges, decentralized exchanges, institutional platforms, lending protocols, and blockchain bridges.
For services operating across multiple countries, Chainalysis allocates capital flows based on the share of web traffic from each market, then adjusts for income differences between countries. This calculation focuses on user location rather than where the business is registered.
Traffic data may not fully exclude VPNs and bots, and transactions with unidentifiable countries are not counted. Therefore, the $449.1 billion figure is a conservative estimate of activity over 12 months, rather than a snapshot of asset value at a single point in time.
Domestic Trading Slows in First Half
A survey of 26 virtual asset service providers published by the South Korean Financial Services Commission on October 1 showed that the domestic market weakened in the first half of 2026. The total value of assets on local exchanges fell 33%, from 87.2 trillion won at the end of 2025 to 58.9 trillion won at the end of June.
Average daily trading volume dropped 44% to 3.1 trillion won. Customer won deposits fell 35% to 5.2 trillion won, while exchange operating profits dropped 78%.
Even so, the number of accounts eligible for trading still rose 0.4% to 11.175 million. Among these, 8.63 million accounts, or more than 77%, held assets worth less than one million won, indicating that the majority of users participate on a small scale.
The Chainalysis estimate covers cumulative activity over 12 months and includes international services used by South Koreans. The regulator’s survey only tracks assets and transactions at registered domestic providers in the first half of 2026.
Korea Phases In Corporate Crypto Access
South Korea began opening its crypto market to legal entities in phases after regulators announced a roadmap in February 2025. Starting in June of that year, certain non-profit organizations and exchanges were allowed to open real-name verified accounts to sell crypto assets and convert them into cash. Broader direct investment rights for corporations remain subject to pilot programs and internal control requirements.
Taxation on virtual asset gains is scheduled to take effect in 2027 following a further two-year postponement by the government. A broader regulatory framework for digital assets, including rules for stablecoins, remains under development.
Under the current schedule, crypto capital gains tax and the expansion of corporate access could jointly impact the market starting in 2027. These changes come as crypto activity in South Korea remains predominantly driven by retail investors.
