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Interest in Altcoins Drives Cryptocurrency Craze in South Korea – Report
Last updated: May 27, 2024 7:30 pm EDT | 1 minute read
Interest in altcoins could be the driving factor behind South Korea’s interest alternative cryptocurrencies continues to rise, a new report claims.
According to South Korean media Kyunghyang Gamesthe findings were published in a report on the national crypto community by blockchain market consultancy DeSpread.
The authors of the report noted that the “preference for altcoins” is “one of the main characteristics of the domestic virtual currency market.”
They added that “home users cryptocurrency exchanges they primarily trade in altcoins, rather than Bitcoin (BTC) OR Ethereum (ETH).”
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The report’s authors noted that “South Korean market influence” was “evident” in “major global altcoin markets with relatively large market capitalization.”
DeSpread noted that on August 5, 2023, 90% of Stacks (STX) global trading volume took place “on domestic cryptocurrency exchanges.”
The company added that, at various times, 60% of the NFT market token’s global trading volume Blur (BLUR) is originally from South Korea.
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The report also notes that search engine data shows that in 2023, South Koreans were more likely to search for cryptocurrency-related terms on the web than users in the United States and Japan.
While American and Japanese users were more likely to search for stock-related terms on the web, South Koreans were more likely to search for the term “코인” (literally “money”). In South Korea, this term is mainly used to refer to altcoins.
Proportionately, South Koreans were also more likely to search for “Bitcoin” in 2023 than web users in the United States and Japan.
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— The Korea Times (@koreatimescokr) May 21, 2024
The report also found that “mentions of the South Korean cryptocurrency market” were increasing on foreign media websites.
The authors said there has been a “steady increase” in South Korean cryptocurrency news “since 2021.”
They noted a sharp increase in South Korea-related coverage in 2022, when reports “were focused on [Do Kwon]” and the Earth ecosystem.
The news has since “shifted attention to the entire crypto ecosystem, including South Korean government regulations,” the authors concluded.