Intensified Revenue Concentration Among Domestic Cryptocurrency Exchanges

4th Place Korbit's Last Year Revenue 22.6 Billion KRW
Gap with 1st Place Dunamu is 163.92 Times
Seemingly Due to Securing Transaction Convenience

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] It has been confirmed that the sales gap among the four major domestic cryptocurrency exchanges has widened sharply.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system on the 13th, the operating revenue (sales) of 'Korbit,' ranked 4th in market share among the four major exchanges, was recorded at 22.6 billion KRW last year. The gap with Dunamu, the No. 1 operator of the exchange 'Upbit,' reached 163.92 times. Last year, Bithumb Korea, which operates the exchange 'Bithumb,' achieved sales of 218.6 billion KRW in 2020, ranking first in the industry, and the sales gap with Korbit was about 78.07 times. The sales gap between the No. 1 and the industry's 3rd place Coinone also widened from 6.6 times in 2020 to 21.35 times last year.

Although all four major exchanges posted record-breaking performances, the concentration phenomenon intensified. The representative cryptocurrency Bitcoin's price soared from the 32 million KRW range in January last year to around 80 million KRW in November, leading Dunamu's consolidated sales last year to increase 20.96 times from the previous year to 3.7046 trillion KRW. Bithumb Korea also jumped 4.62 times during the same period, Korbit increased 8.07 times, and Coinone grew 5.24 times.

The industry cites the convenience of cryptocurrency trading secured by the No. 1 company as the reason for the concentration. Upbit partnered with K Bank, which offers relatively easy non-face-to-face online registration, to issue real-name accounts, and investors flocked due to increased trading convenience.