According to figures compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service and disclosed by lawmaker Lee Heon‑seung, more than 90% of trading on the country’s leading exchanges comes from the top 10% of accounts.
That concentration is particularly striking at Bithumb, where nearly 98% of trading in the first half of 2025 was attributed to whales. GOPAX, Coinone, and Korbit all hovered around the same level, while Upbit – the largest exchange by total volume at over ₩1,488 trillion – showed slightly less dependence at about 89%.
Listing Effect Under Scrutiny
For years, a token debut on a Korean platform often triggered huge price surges, a phenomenon dubbed the “listing effect.” Many believed this was driven by a surge of retail enthusiasm. The new analysis, however, suggests the spikes may have been engineered largely by whales with the power to move prices on their own.
Even in smaller‑cap tokens, dominance remained clear. Between January 2023 and June 2025, big accounts on Bithumb were behind more than 83% of trading in the lowest‑cap assets, while Upbit recorded a still‑heavy 67%.
Institutional Shift Ahead
The market may be on the verge of another shake‑up. Regulators plan to open crypto exchange accounts to up to 3,500 institutions later this year, inviting professional investors into an ecosystem that has so far been retail‑heavy in user numbers but whale‑heavy in volume.
Analysts warn the change could alter Korea’s standing as a “holy land” for token launches. Whether institutional money balances the scales or simply deepens the concentration of trading remains an open question.
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