South Korea's Crypto Traders Flee as Taxation Looms

South Korea's cryptocurrency trading volume could decline by approximately 30% if taxation takes effect in January next year, according to new projections. A survey conducted by Tiger Research found that nearly three out of four investors (73.1%) intend to reduce their use of domestic exchanges once taxation begins.

The survey also showed that a significant portion of respondents plan to move to overseas exchanges or personal wallets to avoid taxation. Some 68.1% said they may increase their use of overseas exchanges, while 64.2% indicated they could expand their use of decentralized exchanges (DEX) or peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions through personal wallets.

The estimated decline in trading volume would result in a loss of approximately $191 billion for South Korea's major exchanges, including Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone. Exchange revenue is also projected to fall by 29.5% from this year to next year.