South Korea’s Crypto Users Top 10.8 Million, but Big Holders Remain Rare

South Korea’s cryptocurrency market is expanding in user numbers but remains dominated by small-scale investors, underscoring the retail-driven nature of the sector.

The number of active accounts registered with licensed exchanges climbed to 24.44 million in the first half of 2025, up 6% from the end of last year, according to data released Oct. 1 by the Financial Intelligence Unit and the Financial Supervisory Service. Almost all of them—24.08 million—were tied to won-based trading, while coin-to-coin markets barely budged, with just 370,000 accounts.

Active users who can actually trade reached 10.77 million, an 11% jump from 9.7 million six months earlier. Nearly all are individuals, with corporate accounts accounting for just 220 in total.

Demographically, the market is anchored by men in their 30s and 40s, who make up more than half of participants. Younger investors in their 20s and retail traders in their 50s are steadily increasing their share, suggesting a slow broadening of the investor base.

But the money remains shallow. About 70% of users (7.56 million people) hold less than ₩500,000 ($360) worth of tokens. Another 8.04 million investors have less than ₩1 million ($720), a surge of 18% in just six months. Only 10% of accounts hold more than ₩10 million, and a mere 1.7% (180,000 people) report holdings above ₩100 million ($72,000).

The findings highlight a widening gap between the growing popularity of digital assets and the relatively thin depth of capital behind most accounts. The midyear survey covered 25 registered virtual-asset providers—including 17 exchanges and eight custody and wallet firms—and was based on data as of June 30.