South Korea has the second-largest crypto market in the world
Crypto trading volume denominated in the South Korean won stands at $663 billion so far this year, second only to the US dollar, which has seen $832 billion in volume, per market data provider Kaiko.
Kaiko’s Tuesday data brief said, “Nearly one in three South Korean adults owns crypto, twice the adoption rate in the U.S., highlighting the growing political and economic influence of digital assets.”
Despite containing one of the most active crypto scenes, the country doesn’t have spot crypto ETFs yet (not even a bitcoin one!), but the volume shows there is demand for a crypto-related exchange-traded fund in the market, according to Kaiko. Crypto natives believe the election of South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae-myung, who has pledged to legalize such investment vehicles and allow firms to issue stablecoins, signals that a Korean ETF is imminent.
Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Lee’s ruling Democratic Party introduced the Digital Asset Basic Act. If passed, it would enable companies to issue stablecoins if they have a minimum of 500 million won or about $368,000 in equity capital.
