Global crypto rally sends trading volumes soaring at Korean exchanges

Korean cryptocurrency exchanges experienced a significant surge in trading volumes over the past few days, according to industry officials. This increase in activity comes after a sharp rebound in the prices of bitcoin and ethereum, which have been driving the rally. The heightened trading volumes have raised expectations that the recovery in crypto prices could lead to improved fee revenue for local exchanges, which have been struggling with weak earnings due to a prolonged trading slump.

As reported by CoinMarketCap and other cryptocurrency data providers, Upbit, Korea's largest crypto exchange, had seen its daily trading volume fluctuate between 300 billion won ($217 million) and 600 billion won for a week prior to August 20. However, on August 20, when bitcoin prices approached $70,000, the daily trading volume on Upbit surged past 1 trillion won.

By the afternoon of August 20, trading volume had reached an impressive 4.61 trillion won, nearly 10 times the level observed a week earlier. Since then, trading volume has moderated but remains at around 2 trillion won per day.

The increased trading activity was not limited to Upbit. Other won-denominated crypto exchanges also witnessed a rise in trading volume over the weekend. Bithumb reported a 24-hour trading volume exceeding 2 trillion won as of 3 p.m. on August 20, while Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX also recorded higher-than-usual trading volumes.