Booming stock market hits smaller South Korean crypto exchanges

The booming domestic stock market is taking a toll on small and medium-sized cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea, the Seoul Economic Daily reported. According to data from CoinGecko at 4:30 a.m. UTC on May 11, the 24-hour trading volume of the country's top five crypto exchanges was approximately $2.39 billion (3.51 trillion won), a decrease of about $100 million from Feb. 11. The impact has been particularly severe for smaller platforms. South Korean exchange Coinone's trading volume fell by about 78%, from around $200 million in February to $43.46 million today. Over the same period, Korbit's volume plummeted by approximately 92%, from $245 million to $19.49 million.