South Korean crypto investors are increasingly favoring altcoins, like Tron, over established cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. These altcoins offer the potential for higher profits, despite greater associated risks.
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A Shift in Crypto Preferences
In South Korea, more and more crypto investors are choosing altcoins as their go-to investment. These altcoins, especially Tron, are gaining popularity because they promise the chance of bigger returns, even though they come with added risks.
Report Insights
A recent report from DeSpread Research highlights the findings of a survey by the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU). The report predicts that, by the first half of 2023, around six million South Koreans will join the ranks of crypto investors. This number is impressive, considering it’s over 10% of the entire South Korean population.
Surprisingly, a significant portion of these investors use centralized exchanges for their crypto transactions. This shows how much these platforms affect South Korea’s crypto world.
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The DeSpread Research report also points out that South Korean traders are very excited about altcoins, especially the ones that could bring them big profits.
What’s With the Low Trading Volumes?
Because of this trend, major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Polygon aren’t seeing as much trading action on South Korean exchanges compared to what’s happening globally.
South Korea has its own special way of dealing with blockchain networks. Tron’s network, which charges lower fees for transactions, is the preferred choice in the country. This choice reflects how South Korean investors like to do things.
Defying Global Trends
While big global exchanges have been doing less business since March, local South Korean exchanges, like Upbit, have gone against this trend. Upbit, the biggest exchange in the country, has even outdone Binance, a global leader, in terms of trading volume by July.
Upbit currently holds 80% of South Korea’s crypto market share, while Bithumb is in second place at 15-20%. Coinone and Korbit don’t have as much influence in the market.
One reason for the surge in trading volumes is the good result of Ripple’s court case against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This win led to a big increase in the price and trading of XRP.
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Even though South Korean exchanges are seeing more trading again, local traders still prefer to store their digital assets on overseas platforms. A September report from the country’s national tax service shows that South Korean investors have about $99 billion in digital assets abroad.