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Korbit is a cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2013 and headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It was the first Bitcoin-Korean Won (KRW) currency exchange in the world.
韩国加密交易市场洗牌：五大交易所上半年交易额同比下降54.6%，中小交易所寻求合作重组
TechFlow News, August 1, according to South Korean media NexBlock, South Korea's virtual asset market trading volume continues to shrink, and the competitive landscape among the five major KRW exchanges is changing. During the market downturn, funds are further concentrating on platforms with leading liquidity, while small and medium-sized exchanges are seeking breakthroughs through cooperation with securities companies, institutional market positioning, and business restructuring. The focus of future competition will no longer be just trading volume, but stablecoin liquidity, traditional financial cooperation, institutional market expansion, and regulatory compliance capabilities. Data shows that in the first half of this year, South Korea's five major KRW exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, Gopax) accumulated trading volume of about $366.58 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 54.6%. From July 1 to 27, the five major exchanges accumulated trading volume of about 17.34 trillion KRW, a decrease of 16.9% compared to the same period last month. Among them, Upbit's trading volume was about 11.69 trillion KRW; although down 10%, its market share rose from 62.3% to 67.4%. Bithumb's trading volume dropped to 4.71 trillion KRW, with its share decreasing from 30.7% to 27.1%, expanding the gap between the two to 40.3 percentage points.
Mirae Asset以约1.02亿美元收购Korbit多数股权，后者更名为Digital X
Mirae Asset Consulting 已取得韩国最早加密货币交易所 Korbit 的多数控制权，持股比例升至 97.15%，交易总额约 1414 亿韩元，按汇率折合约 9500 万至 1.02 亿美元。 韩国公平交易委员会已于 2026 年 7 月 9 日批准该交易，认为收购不太可能限制竞争，并提及 Korbit 2025 年在韩国加密交易市场约 0.5%的份额。Mirae Asset 表示，Korbit 运营实体、用户存款和核心交易服务暂时保持不变，客户资产将按现有保护规则隔离保管。 Korbit 将更名为 Digital X。Mirae Asset 创始人兼全球战略官 Park Hyeon-joo 表示，Digital X 是 Mirae Asset 3.0 战略的核心，计划在同一平台连接现实世界资产代币化、证券型代币发行、稳定币、传统证券和数字资产。 Mirae Asset 表示，Digital X 并非以交易量超越 Upbit 或 Bithumb 为目标，而是定位为基础设施平台，将其证券和资产管理背景与 Korbit 的数字资产运营结合。Digital X 目前将基于 Korbit 现有牌照和用户基础运营。
Mirae Asset completes 97.15% acquisition of Korbit, rebrands as Digital X
Odaily Odaily: Mirae Asset has completed the acquisition of a 97.15% stake in Korbit, one of South Korea's earliest cryptocurrency exchanges, and rebranded it as Digital X. The company plans to develop Digital X into a smart investment platform, integrating real-world assets, security tokens, stablecoins, traditional assets, and digital assets within the same ecosystem. Mirae Asset stated that it will not directly compete with dominant exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb. Instead, it will focus on investor education, research, strict compliance standards, and institutional-grade infrastructure.
South Korea Tightens Control Over Crypto Exchange APIs; DAXA Requires Blocking of Suspicious Shared Keys
The Korea Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA) has introduced new compliance standards requiring local cryptocurrency exchanges to invalidate API keys suspected of being improperly shared by users, thereby strengthening oversight of automated trading. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) stated that automated trading currently accounts for approximately 30% of trading volume in Korea’s cryptocurrency market. Under the new rules, exchanges including Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax will enhance API monitoring, issue warnings upon detecting suspicious sharing behavior, require users to re-authenticate, and implement an IP allowlist mechanism to restrict API access to authorized addresses only.
South Korea’s virtual asset trading volume has dropped to approximately 8% of the KOSPI, and the Bitcoin South Korean premium remains negative.
According to Digital Asset, domestic virtual asset trading volume in South Korea has fallen to approximately 8% of KOSPI trading volume—less than one-tenth. Media statistics show that, as of May 26, the ratio of trading volume on Korean won-based exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax) to KOSPI trading volume stood at just 8%. The report notes that South Korea’s virtual asset market has been weakening continuously since the second half of 2025; it declined sharply following a large-scale futures liquidation event in October 2025, while the KOSPI strengthened amid a semiconductor upcycle and supportive government policies. Additionally, according to CryptoQuant data, the Bitcoin Korea Premium indicator has been negative for most of the time since March, reflecting weak buying demand in the Korean market.
Value of Cryptocurrency Holdings by South Korean Investors Halved, Investors Shift to Stocks
According to Odaily, the value of cryptocurrency holdings held by South Korean investors has more than halved over the past year, dropping from 121.8 trillion won at the end of January 2025 to 60.6 trillion won (approximately $41.4 billion) by the end of February 2026.Daily trading volume on the five major exchanges—Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit, Coinone, and Gopax—fell from $11.6 billion in December 2024 to $3 billion in February 2026. Korean won deposits on these exchanges also decreased from 10.7 trillion won to 7.8 trillion won.Stablecoin holdings declined from 597 million units in December 2024 to 41 million units in February 2026.South Korean regulators plan to implement revised anti-money laundering rules in August, under which crypto transactions involving overseas exchanges or private wallets exceeding 10 million won will be automatically flagged as suspicious. Additionally, a 22% tax on crypto gains is set to take effect on January 1, 2027.
South Korean Virtual Asset Exchanges See Sharp Decline in New Listings, Trading Volume Halved
According to EToday, South Korea's top five virtual asset exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, Gopax) added only 117 new trading listings in the first half of the year, a 44% decrease from 210 in the same period last year; the net increase plummeted from 191 to 49, a year-on-year decline of 74%. Meanwhile, the number of delistings surged from 19 to 68, an increase of 258%. Global virtual asset trading volume recorded $46.07 billion in June, down 34% from $70 billion in the same period last year. The shrinkage in trading volume directly compressed fee income; Dunamu (Upbit's parent company) and Bithumb's first-quarter fee income accounted for 97.49% and 99.99% of operating revenue respectively, highlighting the issue of high dependency on retail spot trading.
Korean Crypto Industry Opposes New AML Rules: Cross-Border Transfer Reporting Threshold May Trigger Compliance Pressure
: South Korea's crypto industry has expressed strong concerns over proposed amendments to anti-money laundering (AML) regulations, arguing that the rules could impose excessive compliance burdens on Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).According to Yonhap News Agency, the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA), representing 27 VASPs including Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax, submitted comments opposing the classification of all overseas virtual asset transfers exceeding 10 million won (approximately $6,800) as suspicious transaction reports.DAXA warned that this rule could cause the number of suspicious transaction reports from South Korea's top five exchanges to skyrocket from approximately 63,000 last year to over 5.4 million—an increase of about 85 times—severely impacting the efficiency of actual compliance execution. Furthermore, the industry also opposes a new obligation requiring exchanges to verify the accuracy of customer information, arguing it exceeds the scope of current legal authorization.South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) and Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) proposed the relevant amendments on March 30, which have now entered a public comment period, with final deliberation expected to be completed in July.Meanwhile, legal disputes between Korean exchanges and regulators over AML penalties continue. Multiple platforms are challenging previous business restrictions and fines through the courts, reflecting an escalating tension between regulatory tightening and the industry's execution capabilities. (Cointelegraph)
Korea's National Tax Service launches preparatory work for virtual asset taxation, targeting implementation in January of next year
the Korea National Tax Service has initiated preparatory work for virtual asset taxation, with the goal of formal implementation in January 2027 and preparation for comprehensive income tax filings in May 2028. According to the current Income Tax Act, income from the transfer and leasing of virtual assets will be classified as "other income," subject to a 22% tax rate on the portion exceeding an annual gain of 2.5 million Korean won, which is expected to affect approximately 13.26 million individuals.The Korea National Tax Service plans to begin collecting data from exchanges such as Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax starting next year, to improve the taxation infrastructure and promote the launch of a comprehensive virtual asset analysis system within the year. However, controversies surrounding taxation standards and the risk of capital flight persist. (Edaily)
Related news
韩国加密交易市场洗牌：五大交易所上半年交易额同比下降54.6%，中小交易所寻求合作重组
TechFlow News, August 1, according to South Korean media NexBlock, South Korea's virtual asset market trading volume continues to shrink, and the competitive landscape among the five major KRW exchanges is changing. During the market downturn, funds are further concentrating on platforms with leading liquidity, while small and medium-sized exchanges are seeking breakthroughs through cooperation with securities companies, institutional market positioning, and business restructuring. The focus of future competition will no longer be just trading volume, but stablecoin liquidity, traditional financial cooperation, institutional market expansion, and regulatory compliance capabilities. Data shows that in the first half of this year, South Korea's five major KRW exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, Gopax) accumulated trading volume of about $366.58 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 54.6%. From July 1 to 27, the five major exchanges accumulated trading volume of about 17.34 trillion KRW, a decrease of 16.9% compared to the same period last month. Among them, Upbit's trading volume was about 11.69 trillion KRW; although down 10%, its market share rose from 62.3% to 67.4%. Bithumb's trading volume dropped to 4.71 trillion KRW, with its share decreasing from 30.7% to 27.1%, expanding the gap between the two to 40.3 percentage points.
Mirae Asset以约1.02亿美元收购Korbit多数股权，后者更名为Digital X
Mirae Asset Consulting 已取得韩国最早加密货币交易所 Korbit 的多数控制权，持股比例升至 97.15%，交易总额约 1414 亿韩元，按汇率折合约 9500 万至 1.02 亿美元。 韩国公平交易委员会已于 2026 年 7 月 9 日批准该交易，认为收购不太可能限制竞争，并提及 Korbit 2025 年在韩国加密交易市场约 0.5%的份额。Mirae Asset 表示，Korbit 运营实体、用户存款和核心交易服务暂时保持不变，客户资产将按现有保护规则隔离保管。 Korbit 将更名为 Digital X。Mirae Asset 创始人兼全球战略官 Park Hyeon-joo 表示，Digital X 是 Mirae Asset 3.0 战略的核心，计划在同一平台连接现实世界资产代币化、证券型代币发行、稳定币、传统证券和数字资产。 Mirae Asset 表示，Digital X 并非以交易量超越 Upbit 或 Bithumb 为目标，而是定位为基础设施平台，将其证券和资产管理背景与 Korbit 的数字资产运营结合。Digital X 目前将基于 Korbit 现有牌照和用户基础运营。
Mirae Asset Completes Acquisition of Korbit, Plans to Reshape It into Comprehensive Digital Asset Platform Digital X
According to CoinDesk, South Korean financial giant Mirae Asset has completed the acquisition of a 97.15% equity stake in South Korea's oldest crypto exchange Korbit and plans to rename it Digital X. Mirae Asset stated that this move is not intended to compete for market share with top exchanges such as Upbit and Bithumb, but is dedicated to building Digital X into an integrated "smart investment platform" covering real-world assets (RWA), security tokens (STO), stablecoins, and traditional assets, while strictly complying with AML, KYC, and anti-fraud standards, targeting both institutional and retail clients.
Mirae Asset completes 97.15% acquisition of Korbit, rebrands as Digital X
Odaily Odaily: Mirae Asset has completed the acquisition of a 97.15% stake in Korbit, one of South Korea's earliest cryptocurrency exchanges, and rebranded it as Digital X. The company plans to develop Digital X into a smart investment platform, integrating real-world assets, security tokens, stablecoins, traditional assets, and digital assets within the same ecosystem. Mirae Asset stated that it will not directly compete with dominant exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb. Instead, it will focus on investor education, research, strict compliance standards, and institutional-grade infrastructure.
韩国未来资产已完成本地加密交易所 Korbit 的收购
据韩联社报道，韩国未来资产集团非金融子公司未来资产咨询将合计取得虚拟资产交易所 Korbit 97.15% 的股权。Korbit 表示，未来资产咨询已于 7 月 22 日取得 91.7% 股份，并计划于 7 月 24 日 收购其余 5.42% 股份完成交易。
Daily trading volume of South Korea's top five crypto exchanges drops 89% year-on-year to $305 million
the trading activity of South Korea's five major Korean won-denominated crypto platforms—Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax—has significantly contracted over the past year. Based on a comparable seven-day period in July, the average daily trading volume across the five platforms decreased from $2.82 billion to $305 million, a year-on-year decline of approximately 89%. Calculated using a simple, unweighted average of the declines across the five platforms, the average drop in trading volume was about 77%. Another statistic shows that on July 20, the daily trading volume of the five major exchanges fell by 88% year-on-year. Korbit raised approximately $1 million by selling 15 BTC and 60 ETH. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 114.44% over the 12 months ending July 22, even after retreating from its June highs. Tiger Research stated that the decline in crypto trading activity in South Korea not only reflects weaker prices but is also related to narrative repetition, partial project delivery failures, and retail investors shifting to stocks. (Cointelegraph)