[Bitcoin Now] "More Users, But Declining Trading Volume in Virtual Assets"

10.77 Million Eligible Users in First Half, Up 11% from End of Last Year
"Market Capitalization and Average Daily Trading Volume Down 14% and 12%, Respectively"

The domestic virtual asset market has contracted compared to the end of last year. While the number of virtual asset users has increased, both the market capitalization and the average monthly trading volume have decreased.

According to the results of the "2025 First Half Virtual Asset Business Operator Survey" conducted by the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service on 25 virtual asset service providers-including 17 exchanges and 8 custody and wallet operators-domestic virtual asset market capitalization in the first half of this year stood at 95.1 trillion won, a 14% decrease compared to the end of last year. This decline is steeper than that of the global market. Based on CoinMarketCap data, the global market capitalization dropped by 7% to 4,473 trillion won.

This is attributed to a slowdown in market growth and increased volatility compared to the previous year, due to global tariff disputes and heightened geopolitical tensions.

The top-ranked virtual asset by domestic market capitalization is Bitcoin, with a value of 33.87 trillion won. This is followed by Ripple (24.4 trillion won), Ethereum (8.57 trillion won), Dogecoin (2.78 trillion won), Solana (2.45 trillion won), and ADA (1.2 trillion won).

The average daily trading volume also decreased by 12% compared to the end of last year, amounting to 6.4 trillion won. Of this, the won-denominated market recorded 6.4 trillion won, a 12% decrease. In contrast, the coin market surged by 286% to 6.1 trillion won.

10.77 Million Users, 30s Are the Most Active

The number of registered accounts (including duplicates and dormant accounts) at the 17 virtual asset trading companies reached 24.44 million, an increase of 1.4 million compared to the end of last year. By market, the won-denominated market saw an increase of 1.4 million to 24.08 million accounts, while the coin market increased by 370,000 accounts.

The number of users eligible for trading showed a similar trend. The number of individuals and corporations eligible for trading-those who have completed customer verification-was 10.77 million (including duplicates), up by 1.07 million from the end of last year. Among these, individuals increased by 1.07 million to 10.77 million, and corporations increased by 49 to 220.

The age group with the highest usage was those in their 30s, accounting for 28% of the total. This was followed by those in their 40s (27%), 20s (19%), 50s (18%), and those aged 60 and above (7%).

Seventy percent of all users held less than 500,000 won in assets. On the other hand, the proportion of users holding more than 10 million won was 1.09 million, or 10%. This represents a 2 percentage point decrease compared to the end of last year. The proportion of users holding more than 100 million won was 180,000, accounting for only 1.7%.

Market Contraction Leads to Decline in Virtual Asset Business Performance

The total sales and operating profit of the 17 virtual asset exchanges (trading companies) were 1.1487 trillion won and 618.5 billion won, respectively, representing decreases of 6% and 17% compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the capital ratio increased by 12.8 percentage points to 49.3%.

The number of employees at virtual asset trading companies totaled 1,973, an increase of 111 people (6%) compared to the end of last year. The average number of employees at won-denominated market companies rose by 26 to 345, while the coin market saw a decrease of one to 21 employees.

The number of personnel dedicated to anti-money laundering (AML) was 209, an increase of two. Specifically, the won-denominated market increased by three to 33, while the coin market decreased by one to four.

The eight virtual asset custody and wallet companies recorded sales of 4.5 billion won, a 53% decrease compared to the end of last year. Operating losses continued at 11.8 billion won.

The total assets under custody at virtual asset custody and wallet companies amounted to 739.8 billion won, a 50% decrease from the end of last year. By user type, corporate assets under custody were 739.8 billion won, down 50% compared to the end of last year, while individual assets decreased by 66% to 400 billion won.

Total employees numbered 193, an increase of 14 (8%) from the end of last year. In contrast, the number of AML personnel decreased by one (5%) to 20.