'Won Market Resumption' Gopax Reenters 4 Major Exchanges, 'Still a Long Way to Go'

Trading Volume Rebound Minimal

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Domestic cryptocurrency exchange Gopax resumed its Korean won market from the afternoon of the 28th of last month, but no rebound in trading volume has been observed. There remains a gap compared to the so-called top four exchanges: Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit.

According to cryptocurrency market tracking site CoinGecko as of 9 a.m. on the 3rd, Gopax's daily trading volume was recorded at $1,574,756 (approximately 2 billion KRW). At the same time, Korbit, one of the top four domestic cryptocurrency exchanges, showed $4,745,067 (approximately 6 billion KRW), resulting in a gap of $3,170,311 between the two. Although Gopax resumed its Korean won market, the trading volume gap did not narrow. On the morning of the 27th of last month at 9:20 a.m., one day before Gopax resumed the Korean won market, the trading volume difference between the two exchanges was $3,122,617.

Before the enforcement of the Specific Financial Information Act in September last year, Gopax recorded higher trading volumes than Korbit. However, on September 26th last year, Gopax's trading volume sharply dropped to $2,419,354, reversing the rankings. This was because Gopax, unable to secure real-name accounts, operated only a Bitcoin market where other cryptocurrencies could be purchased using Bitcoin after the law's enforcement. Gopax signed a contract to issue real-name verified deposit and withdrawal accounts with Jeonbuk Bank only on February 15th. Subsequently, on March 7th, it submitted a report to change its virtual asset business operator status to operate the Korean won market, which was accepted by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Financial Services Commission. Upon resuming the Korean won market, Gopax has launched aggressive marketing strategies such as fee reductions. However, experts predict that it will not be easy for the rankings to change again once altered. Professor Hong Ki-hoon of Hongik University's Department of Business Administration said, "To use Gopax, users must open a bank account and readapt to the interface, which can act as a barrier to entry. While events or investments may increase customers, it is uncertain whether the past customer numbers can be recovered."

Meanwhile, until last year, Gopax's performance surpassed Korbit's. According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system, Streamy, which operates Gopax, had higher sales than Korbit. Last year, Streamy's operating revenue was 31.5 billion KRW, while Korbit's was 22.6 billion KRW.