South Korean crypto trading volume plummets despite surge in new listings

Despite a surge in new coin listings on South Korean exchanges this year, trading volume has plummeted this month, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported. South Korea's five largest cryptocurrency exchanges—Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax—have listed a total of 378 new coins so far in 2025, a figure 141.04% higher than the 268 listings for all of last year. The South Korean exchange Bithumb led with 128 new listings, followed by Coinone with 126, Upbit with 80, Korbit with 31, and Gopax with 13. However, market-wide trading volume stood at 4.96 trillion won (around $3.67 billion) as of 5:00 a.m. UTC on Oct. 30. This represents a 60.6% decrease from the 12.60 trillion won (around $9.33 billion) recorded on Oct. 10 amid a sharp market downturn.