Cryptocurrency investors have seen a significant increase in Korea, along with the profitability of the country’s digital asset exchanges.
The number of domestic cryptocurrency investors in the first half of 2024 was 7.78 million, an increase of more than 21% compared to 645 million in the second half of 2023.
As the number of investors increases, the cumulative operating profit of the top 21 domestic centralized exchanges (CEXs) exceeds KRW 5.9 trillion (USD 4.2 billion), an increase of more than 106% year-on-year (YoY). The contents of the National Financial Services Commission were shared in local media reports.
Rising retail investors are a bullish sign for a bull market. This is because the newfound capital will contribute to the continued price rise of top cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
BTC/USD, 1-month chart. Source: Cointelegraph
Bitcoin almost hit an all-time high ahead of the US presidential election. On October 29, Bitcoin was just $200 away from a new record high after BTC surpassed $73,600, its highest level since March 2024.
However, some analysts believe Bitcoin’s current price action is a “Trump hedge” that lacks the fundamental macroeconomic conditions to push the world’s first cryptocurrency to new all-time highs.
relevant: BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Surpasses $30 Billion; US ETF expected to reach 1 million BTC holdings
The average portfolio of Korean cryptocurrency investors is less than $400.
More than 68% of all cryptocurrency investors in Korea are men, with the largest subset being men aged 30 and older, who make up 1.58 million of the country’s investors.
In Korea, there are only 1.5 million male investors over the age of 40, 108 million male investors over the age of 20, and 850,000 male investors over the age of 50.
relevant: Stacks Asia partners with HEX Trust on $180 billion Bitcoin DeFi opportunity.
However, the average cryptocurrency allocation of Korean investors is still small. More than 528 million people, or 67% of all investors, have cryptocurrency worth 500,000 won or $362 in their portfolio.
Harris vs. Trump 2024: What are the risks in the cryptocurrency market? Source: YouTube
On the other hand, only 10%, or 780,000, of domestic investors hold digital assets worth 10 million won ($7,254), while only the top 1.3% (100,000 people) hold digital assets worth more than 10 billion won ($7.25).
Looking at the largest holdings of Korean investors, Bitcoin accounts for over 37%, Ethereum at 11%, XRP tokens at 10.6%, Dogecoin (DOGE) at 2.8%, and Ethereum Classic (ETC) at 2.7%. .
magazine: Microsoft to vote on Bitcoin, Peter Todd’s stash, and more: Hodler’s Digest, October 20-26