- South Korea soars in the crypto market with $45 billion in 2021.
- In between, the crypto market in the country faced some regulations.
- 24 crypto exchanges weighed nearly 11.4 trillion in average daily transactions.
The year 2021 showed a bright side of the cryptocurrency market in South Korea. Amid the crypto regulations in the country, the crypto market rose to $45 billion by the end of the year. This is according to a new report revealed by the Financial Service Commission (FSC) of South Korea.
The report stated that the average daily transaction volume from 24 crypto exchanges is nearly 11.4 trillion, with a profit amount of 3.4 trillion.
While splitting the share of the gain, the majority of the profit (99.3%) comes from four licensed crypto operators: Upbit, Coinone, Bithumb, and Korbit. The remaining 0.3% is from coin exchanges in the country.
In detail, Bitcoin and Ethereum price growth lead to the overall surge of the crypto market. In the past year, both these cryptos have tripled their price, pulling more investors to the market.
Meanwhile, boosting up the crypto industry in South Korea, the largest bank in the country Kookmin Bank moves to launch crypto facilities and Exchange Traded Funds (ETF). The asset management arm of the bank is preparing to introduce crypto products through domestic and foreign digital asset market research.
Generally, South Korea is one country that follows stringent crypto rules. In 2020, the government proposed an amendment act — Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Transaction Information.
The act, which became effective in 2021, requires crypto service providers to open real-name bank accounts of traders linked to a certified bank. Moreover, it brings in AML (Anti-Money Laundering) and KYC (Know Your Company) requirements.
Following the amendment, several small and medium-scale crypto exchanges have shut down, mainly because banks refused to collaborate with them.
In a nutshell, the crypto industry in South Korea keeps on surging. As several reports show, it has no signs of slowing down.