South Korea's crypto volume drops 28% as retail chases AI stocks

South Korea’s retail crypto traders, long among the most active in the world, pulled back hard in the first quarter. Trading volume dropped roughly 28% year over year to approximately $69 billion, according to TRM Labs’ Q1 2026 Global Crypto Adoption Index.

That’s the steepest decline among major global crypto markets.

The KOSPI index, South Korea’s benchmark stock market gauge, surged 196% year over year. The primary driver was AI-driven semiconductor stocks, an area where South Korean companies like Samsung and SK Hynix have massive exposure.

The broader global crypto market experienced an 11% year-over-year contraction in retail trading volume, bringing the worldwide total to $979 billion. South Korea’s 28% drop is more than double the global average decline.

CoinGecko data shows average monthly KRW-denominated exchange volume fell 21.7% across the five major domestic platforms, including Upbit and Bithumb.

Even with the decline, South Korea held its position as the world’s second-largest retail crypto market. The US led the pack with $212 billion to $213 billion in trading volume, roughly three times Korea’s figure.

Behind South Korea, Russia came in at approximately $48 billion and India at around $46 billion.

For crypto exchanges operating in South Korea, lower volume means lower fee revenue. Upbit, which has historically dominated Korean crypto trading, and Bithumb both face pressure to diversify their offerings or find new growth levers.