South Korea’s Five Largest Crypto Exchanges See Spot Volume Fall 33%

Spot trading volume at South Korea’s five largest cryptocurrency exchanges fell 33% quarter over quarter in the second quarter, a sharper decline than at the world’s 10 largest exchanges and a sign of weaker domestic trading activity.

South Korea plans to begin taxing crypto in January 2027. Overseas trading and transfers to private wallets still pose regulatory blind spots in the country.

A suspected large buyer was linked to a purchase of 1,162 Bitcoin (BTC) through Wintermute, valued at $96.77 million. A Galaxy Digital over-the-counter client transferred 134,000 Chainlink (LINK), worth $1.73 million, to Binance, potentially for a sale.

A wallet described as “smart money” transferred 100,000 Hyperliquid (HYPE) to Kraken again, bringing its reported transfers to the exchange above 260,000 HYPE.

OneKey’s founder said an iPhone can serve as a cold wallet, but recommended using only an iPhone 17 or newer. Paul Tudor Jones warned that U.S. stocks could face serious challenges in 2027 and said he would be willing to short them for a full year.