A study estimated South Korea's virtual asset economy at $449.1 billion (602 trillion won). This is the largest scale in East Asia.
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis released these statistics on the 6th while publishing its "East Asia Virtual Asset Adoption Report." The results are based on an analysis of trading activities in each country from July last year to June this year.
During the same period, Japan reached $228.3 billion, Hong Kong $192.2 billion, China $176.3 billion, and Taiwan $140.4 billion.
According to Chainalysis, virtual asset activity through South Korean exchanges increased by 16.3% year-on-year. The increase in fund flows related to these exchanges was recorded at $51.1 billion.
Researchers analyzed that trading centered on retail investors drove the growth of the South Korean market, given that major financial institutional investors have not yet fully entered the market.
As a characteristic of the South Korean market, the report cited interest in artificial intelligence (AI)-related virtual assets. In June, AI-related virtual assets accounted for approximately 18% of all won (KRW) denominated virtual asset trading, exceeding the share of payment tokens such as XRP (formerly Ripple).
Ji (President), [Title] at Chainalysis Korea, said, "South Korea is a market with active participation from retail investors. This report also clearly showed high interest in AI-related virtual assets and rapid shifts in preference."
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