Korean Exchanges List More Coins Than Global Rivals But Trading Volumes Lag

South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges are listing a large number of coins compared to their global counterparts. Bithumb, one of the major exchanges in South Korea, currently supports 474 digital assets, which is more than U.S.-based Coinbase's 403.

The gap between the two becomes even wider when trading volume is taken into account. While Binance, the world's largest exchange by trading volume, recorded $7.37862 billion in spot trading volume over the past 24 hours, Bithumb's figure was around $349.22 million or about one-twenty-first of Binance's.

Analysts attribute the heavy listing activity to a revenue structure concentrated in spot trading fees. Korean exchanges earn most of their revenue from fees on spot trades by domestic users, which has led them to aggressively list new altcoins to boost trading volume and collect fees.