Top 10% of South Korean crypto traders account for over 96% of volume

South Korea’s cryptocurrency trading activity has become highly concentrated among the top 10% of users, who accounted for more than 96% of total trading volume in the first half of 2026, Digital Asset reported. According to data the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Park Hong-bae received from South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service, the concentration ratio in the first half stood at 95.6% for Upbit, 97.41% for Bithumb, 99.2% for Coinone, 99.43% for DigitalX, and 97.61% for Gopax. The ratio refers to the share of each exchange’s total trading volume accounted for by the top 10% of users by trading value. The report comes as domestic virtual asset trading volume has fallen by more than half over the past year, and concerns are also being raised that such concentration among a small group of users could increase the risk of price manipulation.