South Korean crypto exchanges saw a 78% decline in operating profits in the first half of the year, due to reduced trading volume, market valuation, and customer deposits.

According to the latest data from the South Korean government, the operating profits of Korean cryptocurrency exchanges declined by 78% in the first half of 2026, due to reduced trading activity, market valuation, and customer deposits.

South Korea's financial intelligence agency ( KoFIU ) stated on Thursday that the average daily trading volume of domestic virtual asset exchanges has decreased by 44% compared to the previous six months, market capitalization has fallen by 33%, and deposits denominated in Korean won have decreased by 35%. During the same period, exchange sales have declined by 41%, although the number of tradable accounts has increased slightly by 0.4%.

The survey conducted by KoFIU covered 26 registered virtual asset service providers, including 17 exchange operators and 9 custody and wallet service providers, with the statistical period ranging from January 1st to June 30th.

As these data are released, it seems that retail investors in South Korea are shifting their attention from cryptocurrencies to their domestic stock market.

In May, the value of crypto assets held by South Korean investors declined by 50.2% in about a year, to 60.6 trillion Korean won (41.4 billion US dollars). South Korean media ChosunBiz linked this decline to the flow of funds into the stock market.

A July analysis by Cointelegraph also found that within a comparable seven-day period, the combined average daily trading volumes of Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax decreased by approximately 89% year-on-year, while South Korea's benchmark stock index KOSPI more than doubled over the 12 months up to July 22.

Cointelegraph has contacted Bithumb and Upbit as well as operator Dunamu to solicit their comments.

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