New coins listed on Korea’s top 5 crypto exchanges show weak trading volume

[Photo by Park Hyung-ki]

South Korea’s top five cryptocurrency exchanges have been aggressive in introducing new coins but investor enthusiasm has been waning, with daily trading volume for 17 coins reaching below 1 million won ($757.5).

According to an analysis by Maeil Business Newspaper on Tuesday, the country’s top five cryptocurrency exchanges - Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax - listed 30 new coins in the second half of this year. Of them, Coinone introduced 23 new coins, Bithumb 22, Upbit 5, Gopax 5 and Korbit 3.

Among them, Coinone had 14 coins with a daily trading volume of below 1 million won, Gopax 2, and Korbit 1.

The cryptocurrency exchanges have also been struggling to raise commission profit.

Bithumb garnered only 86.2 million won in commissions from the new coins over the last 24 hours, Upbit 33.8 million won, Coinone 408,000 won, Korbit 106,000 won, and Gopax 569,000 won.

The struggle comes amid a slump in the cryptocurrency market.

Upbit operator Dunamu attributed the poor performance to the global reduction in liquidity and declining investor confidence caused by the prolonged economic downturn.

“Competing for market share with retail investors in Korea is no longer a feasible strategy,” said an unnamed source operating a coin exchange.

Local exchanges targeting retail investors also struggle to keep pace with overseas peers.

The global cryptocurrency market has witnessed futures trading volumes outpace spot trading volumes since March as the overall market has weakened.

According to The Block, an online provider of information services in the digital sector, total global spot trading volume reached 464 trillion won in August while futures trading volume soared to 631 trillion won.

The problem is that domestic exchanges do not offer futures services, which has led to a surge in the utilization of overseas exchanges among retail investors.

Market experts highlight the need to revamp the domestic market with measures to ensure a broader range of investors or crypto assets.

“Allowing institutional investors access to the market could help deflate price bubbles,” said Kang Hyung-koo, a professor at Hanyang University.