South Korea Financial Services Commission releases H2 2025 virtual asset service provider survey showing more users and KRW deposits but lower volumes and profits

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission, through the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit and the Financial Supervisory Service, published the results of a survey of 27 registered virtual asset service providers covering 1 July to 31 December 2025. The survey indicates that, despite declines in major virtual asset prices, the number of users eligible to trade increased by 360,000 (3%) and KRW deposits increased by 31%, while average daily trading volume fell by KRW 1.0 trillion (15%), total operating profits fell by KRW 237.1 billion (38%), and market capitalization declined by KRW 7.9 trillion (8%). KRW-based exchange services continued to dominate the market, while coin-only exchanges recorded a market capitalization drop of KRW 129.3 billion (26%) but increases in average daily trading volume of KRW 220 million (36%) and total operating profits of KRW 2.3 billion (13%). External transfers of virtual assets to registered entities rose 6%, with travel rule transactions down 23% and transfers to whitelisted overseas entities and personal digital wallets up 14%. In custody and wallet services, users increased by 20 (3%), but the total size of virtual assets held fell by KRW 0.4 trillion (58%), which the survey attributes to lower base prices for virtual assets.