South Korea Tops East Asia with $449 Billion Crypto Economy Fueled by AI Tokens

South Korea emerged as the leader in East Asia's crypto economy, reaching $449.1 billion for the year through June 2026. The growth, attributed to a 12.3% increase, was primarily driven by retail traders investing in AI-linked tokens. Chainalysis reported that AI cryptocurrencies became the most-traded thematic category in South Korea, surpassing payment tokens like XRP. The top AI tokens by trading volume included Worldcoin (WLD) at $7.41 billion, Sahara AI (SAHARA) at $3.2 billion, Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) at $2.7 billion, Bio Protocol (BIO) at $2 billion, and Near Protocol (NEAR) at $1.7 billion.

China's crypto economy, despite regulatory challenges, reached at least $176.3 billion. The growth was fueled by a 43x increase in peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers between Q1 2024 and Q2 2026. Chainalysis noted that the true figure could be higher due to China's ban on crypto services. The expansion of China's social credit system into finance in March 2025 contributed to a significant rise in stablecoin transfers, from roughly $240 million to nearly $5 billion annually.

Hong Kong's crypto economy stood at $192.2 billion, characterized by strong institutional activity. Licensed platforms captured 16% of the city's service inflows in 2026, nearly triple any regional peer. Hong Kong attracted $24 billion in inbound business-to-business flows and $17.4 billion in net institutional inflows since late 2024. Japan's crypto economy, the region's second-largest at $228.3 billion, saw decentralized exchange market share climb to 34.5%, the highest among established centralized exchange sectors.

Daniel Kim, CEO of Tiger Research, summarized the region's crypto landscape as a blend of 'grassroots retail depth and institutional firepower.' The contrast between institutional hubs like Hong Kong and retail-driven markets like South Korea highlights the diverse dynamics shaping East Asia's crypto economy.