South Korean investors reportedly own over $5 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC). Ripple (XRP) is the second most popular digital asset as locals hold nearly $4.8 billion in it.
BTC and XRP lead the way
South Korea’s leading crypto exchanges – Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit – conducted a study to determine which digital assets are most attractive to local investors. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization – Bitcoin (BTC) – takes the top spot as South Koreans have invested over $5 billion in it. Ripple’s native token – XRP – ranks second with approximately $4.8 billion distributed.
The third and fourth places belong to Ether (ETH) and Cardano (ADA), respectively. Investors own approximately $4.5 billion worth of the second-largest digital asset and nearly $1 billion in ADA.
Interestingly, the very first memecoin – Dogecoin (DOGE) – completes the top 5. South Koreans hold nearly $900 million of it.
The report noted that local investors traded over $7 trillion in digital assets throughout 2021. The figure is more than the entire amount traded on the main Korea Composite Stock Price Index and the transactions on the junior Kosdaq.
South Korea takes the crypto path
Last month, the East Asian country held its most contested presidential election. In the process, the candidate of the conservative party – Yoon Suk-yeol – won only 263,000 votes more than his opponent and became the next president of South Korea. What is more interesting is that he is a strong supporter of the cryptocurrency industry and is committed to turning his home country into a hub of digital assets.
During his campaign, he promised to allow initial coin offerings (ICOs) and increase the minimum threshold for paying capital gains tax on profits from crypto investments. He vowed to change the law and ensure that those who generate revenues of less than $40,000 annually should be exempt from paying taxes. Currently, such taxation is imposed on investors who make more than $2,000 per annum.
Korea Blockchain Association – a lobby group for crypto exchanges – predicted that South Korea’s new leader would have a positive impact on the local digital asset ecosystem. General Secretary Yoon Seong-han said:
“We definitely welcome his stance as he is confident about boosting the industry. As ICOs are banned now, we have no choice but to issue coins in Singapore and other countries. Ventures and startups will be able to raise money easily from investors [if the ban is lifted].”
BigONE Exchange President – Anndy Lian – also welcomed the country’s new president:
“He understands the importance of crypto. He understands the future, and he’s unstoppable.
