DigitalToday: The landscape of South Korean virtual asset exchanges is changing, with Upbit's concentration somewhat easing.

In the South Korean virtual asset exchange market, Upbit's long-dominant market share saw some easing in the fourth quarter of 2025, while Bithumb's market share relatively increased. CoinGecko data shows that in the fourth quarter of 2025, the total trading volume of the top five South Korean won exchanges was approximately $277.9 billion, with Upbit accounting for approximately $180.7 billion, or 65.0%, down from nearly 80% at the end of 2024. Bithumb's trading volume during the same period was approximately $86.5 billion, accounting for 31.1%, a significant increase. The report states that other exchanges had lower trading volumes, with Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax combined holding less than 4% of the market share. Against this backdrop, competition among South Korean exchanges is gradually shifting from fee-based and promotional strategies to brand and marketing. Industry insiders say that with liquidity highly concentrated on leading platforms, large-scale marketing serves primarily to maintain traffic and trading volume, while the overall market structure remains dominated by the top exchanges. (DigitalToday)