Exclusive-listed coins on South Korean exchanges fall 21% in six months

The number of cryptocurrencies circulating on South Korean exchanges has declined for the first time in two years, while so-called exclusive listings traded on only one exchange fell by more than 20% in six months, News1 reported, citing a survey on virtual asset service providers released today by South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit under the Financial Services Commission. A total of 673 virtual assets were in circulation across domestic exchanges in the first half of this year on a deduplicated basis, down 39, or 5.5%, from 712 in the second half of last year. The sharpest drop came in exclusive-listed virtual assets, which fell by 62, or 20.9%, to 234 from 296 over the same period. By contrast, the number of virtual assets listed on two or more exchanges rose by 23, or 5.5%, to 439 from 416. An industry official said exclusive listings leave exchanges to shoulder the burden of securing liquidity and protecting users from sharp price swings, and added that exchanges are favoring coins already traded elsewhere and with proven market demand.