Global crypto rally sends trading volumes soaring at Korean exchanges

Trading volumes at Korean cryptocurrency exchanges have been experiencing a significant surge in recent days, following a sharp rebound in prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum, according to industry officials. This development has raised hopes that the recovery in crypto prices will lead to improved fee revenue for local exchanges, which have been struggling with weak earnings due to a prolonged trading slump.

CoinMarketCap and other cryptocurrency data providers report that daily trading volume on Upbit, the country's largest crypto exchange, had been fluctuating between 300 billion won ($217 million) and 600 billion won for a week prior to August 20. However, on August 20, the trading volume surpassed 1 trillion won when Bitcoin prices approached $70,000. By Saturday afternoon, the trading volume had surged to 4.61 trillion won, nearly 10 times the level it was a week earlier.

Despite a moderate decrease in trading volume since the peak, it has remained at around 2 trillion won per day. Other won-denominated crypto exchanges have also seen an increase in trading activity over the weekend. Bithumb's 24-hour trading volume exceeded 2 trillion won by Saturday afternoon, while Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX also recorded higher-than-usual trading volumes.