Bank of Korea Unveils Groundbreaking Virtual Asset Market Insights

The Bank of Korea has taken a significant step forward by releasing its 2024 Payment and Settlement Report, marking the first comprehensive analysis of South Korea's virtual asset market since data collection commenced in July of the previous year. This pivotal report, published on April 21, highlights a remarkable surge in trading volumes and the number of investor accounts, signaling the escalating influence of cryptocurrencies within the country's financial sector.

Legislative Milestones and Market Expansion

The enactment of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act in July last year was a cornerstone development, empowering the Bank of Korea to gather transaction data from local exchanges and observe market dynamics. Consequently, deposit funds poised for investment witnessed a dramatic increase, more than doubling from 4.9 trillion won at the end of July to 10.7 trillion won by December. The average daily trading volume experienced a sixfold rise, escalating from 2.9 trillion won to 17.2 trillion won during the same timeframe.

Investor Engagement and Market Penetration

Virtual asset holdings showed stability from July to October before a sharp ascent to 102.6 trillion won in November, culminating at 104.1 trillion won by December. The investor base at South Korea's five leading exchanges—Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX—expanded to 18.25 million by December's end. This uptick reflects a 610,000 increase from November's 17.64 million and a 9.1% growth since July's 16.72 million, indicating that over 35% of the South Korean population is now engaged with these platforms.

The Bank of Korea observed, "The continuous rise in total investor accounts is attributed to the influx of new participants, driven by a revitalized interest in virtual asset investments in the latter half of the year."