Majority of ‘wealthy’ South Koreans say they have no plans to invest in crypto, cite lack of trust

The majority (58.3%) of South Koreans with assets of at least 1 billion Korean won ($760,000) said they had no plans to invest in cryptocurrencies, with most expressing a distrust of digital currency exchanges, according to a survey by a think tank. in KB Financial Group Inc. in South Korea.

See related article: Australian crypto exchange Swyftx cuts 40% of jobs amid fallout from FTX collapse

Fast facts

• The Korea Wealth Report 2022 is based on a survey of 400 people in the wealthy category, although it was carried out in June and July this year, or just after the collapse of the stablecoin Terra-Luna which caused losses to thousands investors in the country.

• According to the report, about 420,400 South Korean adults fall into KB’s wealthy category out of a total population of 51.45 million.

• Around 40% of those not interested in investing in crypto cited a lack of trust in digital asset exchanges, while 36.1% said price volatility was the reason.

• Only 7.8% held digital assets, down from 8.8% last year. The report says the number of respondents who have sold and no longer hold crypto more than doubled to 10.8% from 4.5% in 2021.

• While the average amount of crypto investments in the group increased to 87.2 million won from 83.6 million won last year, around 70% suffered losses, according to the report.

• On the future of crypto, 28.8% said it was a fad that would fade, while 16.8% said crypto would be regulated.

• South Korean Terra-Luna crypto project, once valued at US$40 billion, collapsed in May following the de-pegging of stablecoin Terra. The price of Terra’s sister cryptocurrency, Luna, plummeted 99% in a matter of days, causing losses for hundreds of thousands of investors worldwide.

• South Korea’s average daily cryptocurrency trading volume in the first half of 2022 fell 53% to 5.3 trillion won ($4 billion) from the second half of 2021, according to the country’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

• South Korea had over 6.9 million crypto users at the end of June 2022, according to the FSC.

See related article: South Korea Considers Passing Crypto Investor Protection a Priority: Report