16 Million Koreans Are Crypto Crazy! Is Your Neighbor One of Them? 🚀

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Move over, K-pop! South Korea’s new obsession is crypto, and it’s spreading faster than a viral TikTok dance. 🕺 After Trump’s election win last November (because, of course, that’s when the crypto craze really kicked off), the number of crypto exchange users in South Korea skyrocketed to over 16 million. That’s right, folks—16 million people are now juggling digital coins like they’re auditioning for a circus act. 🤹

According to a report from Yonhap, this crypto frenzy means that over 30% of South Korea’s population has a crypto exchange account. And no, they’re not just counting your cousin who opened 12 accounts to get those sweet sign-up bonuses. The data comes from the top five domestic exchanges: Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax. 🏦

But wait, there’s more! Industry insiders are predicting that the number of crypto users could hit 20 million by the end of the year. One unnamed official even said, “Some believe the crypto market has reached a saturation point, but there is still an endless possibility for growth compared with the matured stock market.” Translation: “Buckle up, folks. This rollercoaster isn’t stopping anytime soon.” 🎢

“Some believe the crypto market has reached a saturation point, but there is still an endless possibility for growth compared with the matured stock market.”

After Trump’s election win, the number of crypto users jumped by over 600,000, bringing the total to 15.6 million. These folks are collectively holding a whopping 102.6 trillion South Korean won ($70.3 billion) in crypto assets. That’s enough to buy a small country—or at least a really nice island. 🏝️

By March 2024, the number of crypto investors had already exceeded 14 million. Meanwhile, the stock market is looking a little lonely with only 14.1 million individual investors. Poor stock market. Maybe it needs a hug. 🤗

And it’s not just regular folks getting in on the action. Even South Korean public officials are dipping their toes into the crypto pool. The country’s Ethics Commission for Government Officials revealed that 20% of surveyed public officials hold 14.4 billion won ($9.8 million) in crypto. The highest amount disclosed? A cool 1.76 billion won ($1.2 million) belonging to Seoul City Councilor Kim Hye-young. 🤑

But not everyone’s playing by the rules. On March 26, the Financial Intelligence Unit of the South Korean Financial Services Commission published a list of 22 unregistered platforms and 17 that were blocked from the Google Play store. Looks like someone’s been naughty. 🚫

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2025-03-31 09:29