Korbit · 141

The institutionalization of the Korean crypto market accelerates: the top 5 exchanges have 6590 corporate accounts, Bithumb accounts for nearly half

Comparative news, according to Yonhap News Agency, Korea's Financial Supervisory Service submitted data to the South Korean National Assembly Government Affairs Committee, revealing that as of the end of July, there were 6590 registered corporate accounts on Korea's top five virtual asset exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Digital Asset Exchange, Gopax). In terms of exchange distribution, Bithumb has the highest number of registered corporate accounts, reaching 3,280; Upbit operator Dunamu has 2,086 accounts. The two major exchanges had a total of 5,366 corporate accounts, accounting for 81.4% of the total. Additionally, Korbit has 620, Coinone has 539, and Gopax has 65. Judging from the compliance situation, there are a total of 711 corporate accounts that have completed customer identity verification (KYC), accounting for 10.8% of all corporate accounts. Among them, Upbit has the most, 290; Bithumb has 199, Korbit has 184, and Coinone and Gopax have 33 and 5, respectively. In terms of virtual asset holdings, Korean corporate accounts are about 43.377 billion won (about 31.2 million US dollars), of which the Upbit platform accounts for the highest share, with a holding scale of about 27.08 billion won, accounting for 62.4% of the total; Bithumb is about 6.29 billion won, and Coinone is about 5.15 billion won. The corporate account deposit amount is approximately KRW 9.13 billion.

1m ago

Revenue is cut! Korean crypto exchanges can't handle it anymore

Source: Shenchao TechFlow Article: Cookie Original title: Shortage of revenue from the Korean Crypto Exchange: The most profitable business can't escape the decline in liquidity, the business most like traditional finance, and is also most constrained by cycles like traditional finance. Key points: Dunamu, the parent company of Upbit and Bithumb, the two largest crypto exchanges in Korea, released financial reports for the first half of 2026 on the same day. Revenue was almost down (down about 49% year on year), but profit performance was extremely uneven: Dunamu's net profit was 108.4 billion won (down 74.1% year on year), while Bithumb had a net loss of 108.7 billion won (profit of 55 billion won in the same period last year). The main reason for the decline: The total trading volume of South Korea's licensed Korean won exchanges fell 49.5% year-on-year in the second quarter, and fee revenue declined simultaneously with the overall contraction of the market. Profit difference: Dunamu has better cost control and remains profitable; Bithumb's losses include digital asset impairment and regulatory penalties, and the operating profit margin is less than 9%. Capital flow: South Korea's retail capital is shifting from the crypto market to AI and semiconductor concept stocks (Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix), and a 22% crypto profits tax will be introduced in 2027, curbing the will to trade. IPO process: Dunamu received an investment of about 1.5 trillion won from Samsung affiliates and others, and cooperated with Naver Financial to advance the KRX listing; Bithumb plans a three-phase IPO, targeting 2028, but current financial performance is under pressure. Industry reflection: The business model, which accounts for nearly 100% of transaction fees, showed strong cyclical characteristics. The profit margin fell from 88% in 2021 to the current 14%. Exchange valuation logic faced open market torture and transformed into a key issue. South Korea's two largest crypto exchanges simultaneously handed over a nearly symmetrical recession report card. On August 14, Upbit's parent company Dunamu submitted its report for the first half of 2026 to the Korea Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) electronic disclosure system. Bithumb's semi-annual report also surfaced on the same day. Looking at the two financial reports together, it's like two perspectives on the same recession. Dunamu's consolidated revenue for the first half of the year was 408.1 billion won, down 49.1% year on year; operating profit was 111.5 billion won, down 79.7% year on year; net profit was 108.4 billion won, down 74.1% year on year. Bithumb's revenue for the first half of the year was 168.8 billion won, down 48.7% year on year; operating profit was 14.9 billion won, down 83.4% year on year; net loss was 108.7 billion won, compared to net profit 55 billion won for the same period last year. Revenue declines were almost the same, all around 49%. However, there is a huge gap on the profit side. Despite a sharp drop in profits, Dunamu still earned 108.4 billion won. Bithumb directly turned into losses, and the amount of losses even exceeded Dunamu's net profit. At the same ebb, the revenue of the two companies at different levels fell at the same time. The reason is simple: the total trading volume of the five licensed Korean won exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, Gopax) in the second quarter fell 49.5% year over year to about US$146.4 billion. The overall market has shrunk in half, and handling fee revenue has naturally shrunk in half. But why is Dunamu still profitable and Bithumb losing money? The difference is revenue structure and cost control. Upbit's trading platform revenue for the first half of the year was approximately 395.5 billion won, accounting for 97% of total revenue. Bithumb has a higher percentage, and almost 100% comes from transaction fees. Both are highly dependent on transaction fees, but Dunamu has better control on the cost side. Bithumb's losses include digital asset impairment losses and administrative expenses associated with regulatory penalties. One more number explains the problem. At its peak in 2021, Dunamu left an operating profit of 88 won for every 100 won of revenue. By the second quarter of 2026, this figure became 14 won. The operating profit margin dropped from 88% to 14%. In five years, same company, same business model. Bithumb's situation is more extreme. The operating profit for the first quarter was only 2.8 billion won, and the net loss was 86.9 billion won, including significant digital asset impairment and compliance rectification expenses. Although the business level recovered in the second quarter, the first half of the year as a whole remained a net loss. Where did the money go? The decline in South Korea's crypto trading volume is directly linked to a structural shift in local capital flows. 2026...

3d ago22#Bithumb

South Korea's Future Assets will inject around $36 million into its crypto exchange Korbit

In comparison, Korbit's operating company, which is injecting about 50 billion won (about 36 million US dollars) into the local crypto exchange after The Block quoted News1 Korea Future Asset Group to acquire the local crypto exchange Korbit in July, has recently changed its name to DigitalX.

9d ago

As the Korean stock market cools down, why did Upbit and Bithumb start a currency war?

Author: Zen, PanNews Original title: After the trading volume was cut, the two major Korean crypto exchanges started a currency listing war, while the Korean stock market was cooling down, the listing competition between the two major crypto exchanges Upbit and Bithumb began to heat up. In the past month, Upbit and Bithumb's coin listing pace has accelerated markedly. Both exchanges have added 17 new won trading assets, which is significantly higher than the regular monthly average of 6 to 10 types in the first half of the year. In a context where overall trading volume is still sluggish, a cryptocurrency war has begun again around existing capital and retail investors' attention. The best summer for the Korean stock market. Crypto trading ushered in a major cooling. In the first half of this year, the Korean stock and cryptocurrency markets went out of two diametrically opposite curves. According to Korea Exchange (KRX) data, KOSPI's average daily turnover in January was 27.06 trillion won, rising to 32.23 trillion won in February, setting a historical record at the time. However, after entering May, the market was completely crazy. KOSPI's average daily turnover reached 50.22 trillion won, and continued to maintain a high level of 50.35 trillion won in June, nearly doubling from the beginning of the year. This round of trading is largely concentrated on large semiconductor companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which have jointly created an obvious upward market and wealth effect. Against the backdrop of KOSPI's rapid rise, retail capital is flocking to the stock market. As a result, domestic crypto trading in South Korea, which already lacked market conditions, shrank further and continued to cool down during the “best summer in Korea.” According to CoinGecko data, the total trading volume of the five Korean won exchanges of Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax in the second quarter of this year was about US$146.43 billion, down 49.5% from US$289.69 billion in the same period in 2025. Among them, Upbit's trading volume of the two major exchanges declined 54% year over year, and Bithumb declined 41.7% year over year. In the first half of this year, for Korean investors, the hottest and most popular market today was clearly stocks rather than cryptocurrencies. For exchanges, even if a few more altcoins and a few activities are launched at this stage, they cannot compete with the stock market, which is having a strong wealth effect. At this stage, Upbit and Bithumb's coin listing pace remained normal or slowed down, basically maintaining 6 to 10 types per month. In the second quarter, which was the craziest in the Korean stock market, Bithumb seemed to avoid the sharp edge of the stock market. Only 22 new tokens were added, which is far lower than the 33 in the same period in 2025. The “inflection point” has arrived. The two major exchanges started a currency exchange war and entered the third quarter, and things began to change. After the peak in May and June, KOSPI's average daily turnover fell to 36.88 trillion won in July, down about 26.8% from the previous month; in August, the average daily turnover as of August 9, the average daily turnover fell further to 26.28 trillion won, which is already lower than the level at the beginning of the year. Furthermore, according to Korea Exchange data, the share of individual investors in KOSPI's turnover fell from 48.19% in January to 31.23% in July. Investors' reserves, which are regarded as “standby funds” in the securities market, also declined by about 25.5% over two months from a high of 139.69 trillion won on June 4 to 104.14 trillion won at the end of July. From a surge in wealth to “those who don't buy stocks are the winners”, after experiencing a frenzy in the first half of the year, the share of retail transactions in the stock market and off-market standby capital began to cool down from a high point. It was during this period that Upbit and Bithumb's coin listing pace began to accelerate markedly. From the beginning of July to August 11, Upbit added a total of 17 new won trading assets in just over a month, as well as 8 new coins that can only be traded in BTC and USDT. Compared to the monthly listing of about 6 to 10 new coins in the first half of the year, this is equivalent to the normal amount for at least the past two months. Meanwhile, Bithumb also maintained a high frequency of coin listings, and also added 17 types of won trading assets. PanNews learned that compared to previous rumors in the industry, the recent intensive listing, some projects said they also learned about it afterwards, and that they did not pay the coin listing fee. We don't know whether the management of the two exchanges will decide the number of coins listed based on changes in KOSPI's turnover. However, from the perspective of user competition, this time window is clearly more favorable than the first half of the year. When the stock market has a large number of rising targets and high volatility every day, relying on the new currency to grab the attention of retail investors is completely futile. However, when the profit effect of the stock market weakens, exchanges re-attract investors with high risk appetite through new assets, short-term price fluctuations, and incentive activities. The marginal effects may be mentioned...

11d agoburnking#Bithumb #Upbit

South Korea's FSS upgrades anti-fraud system, and crypto assets are included in the scope of compensation for voice fraud

Comparatively, the Korea Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has begun a three-month reconstruction project for the fraudulent refund system with a budget of about 119 million won. The upgrade is aimed at complying with the “Telecom Fraud Damage Compensation Law” revised on March 31 this year — the law will officially come into effect on October 1, officially including virtual assets in the categories of “damaged property” and “refundable property.” The new system will support the calculation of compensation amounts based on the type and quantity of tokens, and use the value of the won when the funds are frozen as a reference base, and also has the ability to dismantle mixed fraudulent funds from multiple accounts. Major exchanges such as Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX will then have the same anti-fraud and victim relief obligations as banks, including verifying the purpose of the transaction, monitoring suspicious funds, and freezing suspected accounts.

11d ago

Data: South Korea's net outflow of stablecoins from overseas reached 560.3 billion won in June, showing a net export status for 18 consecutive months

According to Yonhap, according to Yonhap News Agency, the five major Korean cryptocurrency exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax) shipped 2.7625 trillion won to overseas exchanges in June of this year, with an inflow of 2.2022 trillion won and a net outflow of 560.3 billion won, which is equivalent to 77.6% of the net overseas stock purchases (about 722 billion won) by Korean investors during the same period. At the beginning of last year, that ratio was still around 20%. According to the report, stablecoins have had a net export status for 18 consecutive months since the beginning of last year, in contrast to net sales of overseas stocks in some months. In the second quarter of this year alone, stablecoins had net sales of 1.6872 trillion won, while overseas stocks had a net sale of 1.6185 trillion won. These outbound stablecoins are thought to be mainly used for derivatives transactions not provided by domestic exchanges in Korea. In addition to cryptocurrency futures, overseas exchanges have also recently launched spot and futures products for major Korean stocks such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Hyundai Motor. Some highly leveraged products can add tens of times leverage to indices or individual stocks.

19d ago

Reshaping the Korea Exchange pattern: Upbit's share rises to 67%, and small to medium platforms are betting on financial integration and transformation breakthroughs

Comparatively, the volume of transactions in the Korean virtual asset market continues to shrink, and the competitive pattern among the five major Korean won exchanges is changing. During the market downturn, capital was further concentrated on platforms with leading liquidity, while small and medium-sized exchanges sought breakthroughs through securities company cooperation, institutional market layout, and business restructuring. According to the data, the five major Korean won exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax) had a cumulative transaction volume of about 366.58 billion US dollars in the first half of this year, a year-on-year decrease of 54.6%. From July 1 to 27, the five major exchanges had a cumulative trading volume of about 17.34 trillion won, down 16.9% from the same period last month. Among them, Upbit's trading volume was about 11.69 trillion won, but the market share increased from 62.3% to 67.4%; Bithumb's trading volume fell to 4.71 trillion won, and the share fell from 30.7% to 27.1%, widening the gap between the two to 40.3 percentage points. Market analysts believe that the declining volatility of Bitcoin and altcoins is an important reason for the contraction of transactions. In the first half of this year, the average daily volatility of Bitcoin was 1.25%, and the volatility of the altcoin index was 1.79%, all lower than the Korean stock market KOSPI index of 4.67%. In the context of shrinking market liquidity, investors' willingness to trade has declined, and exchanges that simply rely on transaction fee revenue are under greater pressure. Meanwhile, midstream and downstream exchanges have begun to seek integration with traditional financial institutions. The industry believes that changes in the Korean exchange industry are similar to global trends. The US exchange Coinbase's recent transaction revenue is under pressure, but it has reduced its dependence on rival renewals through non-transactional services such as subscription services and escrow. The market is shifting from simply trading volume competition to competition in financial ecology, institutional services, and asset infrastructure. (NexBlock)

21d ago

Mirae Asset bought majority shares in Korbit for approximately $102 million, the latter changed its name to Digital X

According to the news, Mirae Asset Consulting has obtained majority control of Korbit, Korea's earliest cryptocurrency exchange, and the shareholding ratio has risen to 97.15%. The total transaction amount is about 141.4 billion won, which is equivalent to 95 million to 102 million US dollars at the exchange rate. The Korea Fair Trade Commission approved the deal on July 9, 2026, arguing that the acquisition is unlikely to limit competition, and mentioned Korbit's share of about 0.5% of the Korean crypto exchange market in 2025. Mirae Asset said that Korbit's operating entities, user deposits and core trading services will remain unchanged for the time being, and customer assets will be kept in isolation according to existing protection rules. Korbit will change its name to Digital X. Park Hyeon-joo, founder and global strategy officer of Mirae Asset, said that Digital X is the core of the Mirae Asset 3 strategy and plans to connect real-world asset tokenization, securities token issuance, stablecoins, traditional securities, and digital assets on the same platform. Mirae Asset said Digital X did not aim to surpass Upbit or Bithumb in trading volume, but rather positioned as an infrastructure platform, combining its securities and asset management background with Korbit's digital asset operations. Digital X will currently operate based on Korbit's existing license and user base.

28d ago

Mirae Asset completes 97.15% acquisition of Korbit and changes name to Digital X

According to Twitter, Mirae Asset has completed the 97.15% acquisition of Korbit, Korea's first crypto exchange, and renamed it Digital X. The company plans to build Digital X as an intelligent investment platform that integrates real-world assets, security tokens, stablecoins, traditional assets, and digital assets within the same ecosystem. Mirae Asset said it will not directly compete with leading exchanges such as Upbit and Bithumb, and will focus on investor education, research, strict compliance standards, and institutional-level infrastructure.

29d ago

Future Asset Advisory will hold 97.15% of South Korean crypto exchange Korbit. The transaction is expected to be completed on July 24

Comparatively, according to Yonhap News Agency, Mirae Asset Consulting (Mirae Asset Consulting), a non-financial subsidiary of Future Asset Group, will acquire a total 97.15% stake in the Korean crypto exchange Korbit. Korbit said on July 23 that Future Asset Consulting completed the acquisition of 91.7% of the shares on the 22nd and is expected to acquire the remaining 5.42% of the shares on the 24th to complete the transaction. Earlier, Future Asset Consulting announced on the 21st that it will acquire an additional 1,5899 million Korbit shares for approximately 7.887 billion won, increasing its total shareholding from approximately 26.9058 million shares to approximately 28.4957 million shares, and the total investment amount increased from about 133.48 billion won to about 141.367 billion won. Korbit said it will continue to provide existing services. User deposits and cryptographic assets are kept separately from company assets in accordance with the Virtual Asset User Protection Law. The personal information processing entity is still Korbit, and the purpose of processing and scope of use remain unchanged.

30d ago