Cryptocurrency investors in South Korea surged in November when Donald Trump won the US election.
On December 25, South Korea's Yonhap News reported that the number of domestic users increased by 610K in November. Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) representative Lim Kwang-Hyun shared data showing the total number of domestic Cryptoasset investors reached 15.59 million by the end of November.
South Korea has a population of 51.71 million. Therefore, 15.59 million Cryptoasset holders account for over 30% of the population. Yonhap said this is the number of investors on the five major exchanges in South Korea, including Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax.
Over 30% of South Koreans own Cryptoassets
On July 19, the Virtual Asset User Protection Act from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of the country came into effect. Under the new regulations, virtual asset service providers must ensure the protection of users' Cryptoassets.
Yonhap said the data was collected and released after the country introduced new regulations on Cryptoasset exchanges. This is also the first time statistics related to Cryptoassets have been published.
Current state of the Cryptoasset market in South Korea. Source: Yonhap News
In addition to the number of users, the data also shows that South Koreans hold around 102.6 trillion South Korean won, worth $70.3 billion, in Cryptoassets. The newspaper said the trading volume of Cryptoassets in the country has threatened the local stock market.
Trump's victory attracted more Cryptoasset investors in South Korea
According to Yonhap, the increase in users may be related to the US election results in November.
On November 6, Trump won the 2024 US Presidential election. Many believe that Trump's victory could eliminate the "anti-Bitcoin" movement in the US. Community members hope that the country's approach to Cryptoassets will change.
This also spread to the Cryptoasset community in South Korea. Yonhap said the increase in Cryptoasset users may have been driven by hopes for more favorable Cryptoasset regulations after Trump's victory.
