South Korea’s five biggest exchanges see Q2 crypto trading volume fall 33%

Spot trading volume at South Korea’s five largest won-based crypto exchanges, including Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, DigitalX, formerly Korbit, and Gopax, is estimated to have fallen about 33% to $146.7 billion in the second quarter from about $218.8 billion in the first quarter, according to CoinGecko’s "2026 Q2 Cryptocurrency Industry Report," released on Oct. 13. Etoday said global crypto exchanges are expanding into futures, options and stocks, while domestic exchanges remain focused on spot trading as regulation has constrained their business scope. As spot trading weakens and controversy over tax fairness adds pressure, the outlet said regulatory formalization is needed to strengthen the competitiveness of South Korean exchanges.