Trading Volume Halved at the Four Major Cryptocurrency Exchanges

Reduced by More Than Half Compared to Early This Month to 5.623 Trillion Won
Impact of Kimchi Coin Delisting

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] Due to the consecutive delistings of domestically issued cryptocurrencies, the trading volume of the four major domestic exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit, Coinone) has decreased by more than half compared to the beginning of this month.

According to cryptocurrency market tracking site CoinMarketCap as of 8:37 AM on the 21st, the 24-hour trading volume of the four major domestic exchanges recorded $4.95862 billion (approximately 5.623 trillion KRW). This is a decrease of more than half compared to the trading volume of $10.16121 billion recorded on the 10th.

Until last month, the trading volume of the exchanges even surpassed that of the domestic stock market. On the 7th of last month, the four major exchanges recorded a trading volume of a staggering 44.9716 trillion KRW, far exceeding the KOSPI trading volume of 15 trillion KRW at that time.

The surge in cryptocurrency trading was driven by kimchi coins issued by domestic developers. Kimchi coins listed on each exchange skyrocketed, attracting many investors. For example, Paycoin, issued by domestic payment service company Danal, surged by 1628.72% in a single day on February 17, naturally causing the trading volume to explode. Paycoin’s trading volume was only $1.4 million at the beginning of this year but increased significantly to $1.054 billion on February 17.

However, as the Financial Services Commission hinted at strong regulations, including considering a plan to leave only a very small number of cryptocurrencies that have obtained licenses, exchanges began delisting kimchi coins. On the 18th, Upbit announced it would delist 24 cryptocurrencies, and on the 11th, it announced it would suspend KRW trading for five cryptocurrencies including Paycoin. Bithumb also decided to delist four cryptocurrencies on the 17th. Coinone has not delisted any cryptocurrencies this month yet, but with 181 cryptocurrencies currently listed?the most among the four major exchanges?investors are expressing anxiety. Korbit is the only exchange that has not taken any delisting or warning measures this year but is still affected by other exchanges.

Accordingly, there is speculation that the domestic cryptocurrency market will be reorganized around major cryptocurrencies. Even on this day, the top trading volumes on Upbit were occupied by cryptocurrencies traded on overseas exchanges such as Ripple, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, and Ethereum Classic, instead of kimchi coins. Professor Lee Byung-wook of Seoul School of Integrated Sciences and Technologies emphasized, "If the domestic cryptocurrency market is reorganized, the volatility issue, which has been pointed out as a weakness, will be somewhat resolved."