Korean Won Overtakes Dollar as Top Fiat Trading Pair Amid Recent Bitcoin Rally: Report

South Korea

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Jai Pratap

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Jai Pratap

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Jai serves as the Asia Desk Editor for Cryptonews.com, where he leads a diverse team of international reporters. Jai has over five years of experience covering the web3 industry.

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December 5, 2023

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South Korean crypto traders are emerging as key influencers in driving Bitcoin price up by over 50%, reaching its highest price level in two years.

As per data compiled by CCData for November, Korean won surpassed the dollar, becoming the largest fiat trading pair in crypto for the first time, Bloomberg reported.

Korean won accounted for 42.8% of fiat trading activity in Bitcoin in November, outpacing the dollar.

Market Share of S.Korean Exchanges Increases

Excluding stablecoins and select trading pairs, CCData’s findings reveal a substantial increase in the market share of South Korean-based exchanges, rising to 12.9% in November compared to 5.2% at the beginning of the year.

Particularly, platforms like Upbit have contributed significantly to the surge in trading activity on centralized exchanges in the East Asian nation.

The surge in trading activity aligns with a broader uptick in overall trading volume throughout October and November.

This surge in the digital asset market coincides with a sense of optimism surrounding the potential approval of U.S. exchange-traded funds to hold digital assets.

South Korea Remains on Top Despite Setbacks

South Korea, renowned for its robust blockchain and crypto community, has weathered challenges, including the collapse of Terra in May 2022, led by Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon.

Despite setbacks, the nation remains a focal point for many crypto firms eyeing substantial opportunities, particularly as regulatory challenges intensify in the United States.

The data suggests that South Korean traders are not only contributing significantly to the surge in the market but also diversifying their influence across various digital assets.

As reported earlier, analysts from the South Korea-founded blockchain data platform CryptoQuant revealed that traders in South Korea are particularly responsible for the escalating trading volume of altcoins.