Korean won and cryptocurrency share a close connection, with recent research revealing that the South Korean won has outpaced the U.S. dollar in global cryptocurrency trading usage. According to a study by research firm Kaiko, the volume of cryptocurrency transactions in Korean won reached US\(456 billion in the first quarter of this year, exceeding the transactions in U.S. dollars, which totaled US\)445 billion.

In addition to the Korean won and the U.S. dollar, the euro recorded a trading volume of US\(59 billion, followed by the Turkish lira at US\)50 billion, and the Japanese yen at US$42 billion in the realm of cryptocurrency trading.

The notable increase in won-denominated transactions in cryptocurrency trading is credited to a competitive fee environment among local exchanges. Platforms like Bithumb and Korbit have recently initiated zero-fee promotions to entice customers, with a specific focus on attracting Upbit’s client base, which contributes to 80 percent of spot trading volume.

Moreover, in South Korea, there exists a notable preference for high-risk small-cap cryptocurrencies with higher volatility over established large-cap cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, a prominent player, or Ethereum, the second-largest in market capitalization. Bloomberg’s findings indicate that small-cap cryptocurrencies constitute 80 percent of the total cryptocurrency trading volume in South Korea.