South Korean crypto trading volume plummets 80% year-over-year

Trading volume on South Korea's won-denominated cryptocurrency exchanges has plummeted by 80% compared to the same period last year, signaling a rapid market contraction, ZDNet Korea reported. The total trading volume across the five major South Korean exchanges over the past month (Dec. 6, 2025, to Jan. 5, 2026) was approximately 77.6 trillion won ($57.5 billion). This represents a steep decline from the 371.4 trillion won ($275.1 billion) recorded during the corresponding period a year earlier (Jan. 6 to Feb. 5, 2025). During this period, trading volume on the South Korean exchange Upbit fell by approximately 82%, from 271.6 trillion won to 49.0 trillion won. Bithumb saw its volume decrease by 74%, from 91.9 trillion won to 23.6 trillion won.