As the virtual asset market regained its bull market status after three years due to the 'Trump Rally', it was confirmed that three out of ten people are coin investors. The size of virtual asset trading is also growing to match the domestic stock market.
According to data submitted by the Bank of Korea to Rep. Lim Gwang-hyun of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly Planning and Finance Committee, the number of domestic virtual asset investors was 15.59 million as of the end of November. This is an increase of 610,000 compared to the previous month. This is the number of investors with accounts on the top five domestic exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX). This means that more than 30% of the population of approximately 51.23 million in Korea are investing in coins. However, this figure is the combined total of cases where the same person has accounts on multiple exchanges.
The number of domestic virtual asset investors increased by about 100,000 people every month, from 14.74 million at the end of July, 14.82 million at the end of August, 14.88 million at the end of September, and 14.98 million at the end of October, before increasing significantly in November. This is analyzed to be due to the influx of new investors as the virtual asset market began to rise following the election of US President Donald Trump, with the price of Bitcoin skyrocketing from the 105 million won range at the end of October (based on Upbit) to the 135.8 million won range at the end of November.
The amount of virtual assets held by domestic investors also increased significantly last month based on market valuation. The total holding amount remained at a similar level, with 58.6 trillion won at the end of July, 50.6 trillion won at the end of August, 54.7 trillion won at the end of September, and 58 trillion won at the end of October, before jumping to 102.6 trillion won at the end of November. During the same period, the holding amount per person also remained at the 3 million won level, but in November, it surged to 6.58 million won.
The deposits, which are funds waiting for investment, were tallied at 8.8 trillion won at the end of November. Deposits refer to the amount of funds that are not invested in virtual assets and are kept in exchanges. Monthly, it showed a noticeable increase from 4.9 trillion won at the end of July, 4.5 trillion won at the end of August, 4.4 trillion won at the end of September, and 4.7 trillion won at the end of October.
The trading volume is also surpassing the domestic stock market. The average daily trading volume of domestic virtual asset exchanges reached 14.9 trillion won in November. This is equivalent to the combined amount of the Korea Exchange (KOSPI) of 9.9214 trillion won and the KOSDAQ of 6.9703 trillion won in the same month. The previous average daily virtual asset trading volume was recorded as 2.9 trillion won in July, 2.8 trillion won in August, 2.8 trillion won in September, and 3.4 trillion won in October.
Rep. Lim said, “The virtual asset transaction volume is rapidly increasing to a level comparable to that of the stock market,” and added, “We need to make thorough preparations at the government level to establish sound market transactions that enhance the stability of the virtual asset market and protect the rights and interests of users.”
