The South Korean Crypto Market Overview, published jointly by Xangle and Chainalysis, revealed that the cumulative value of trading volume from the 4 big crypto assets exchanges in South Korea reached about $93 billion from June to October of this year. Among the many interesting details to come out of the report was the fact that over those 5 months, altcoin trading volume exceeded the global average while Bitcoin trading volume fell short of the global average. According to CMC, Bitcoin accounted for 26% of global trading volume whereas Bitcoin only accounted for 15.3% of trading volume in South Korea.

2. This report comprises analyses made by Chainalysis and Xangle about the Korean crypto assets market from 7/2019 through 10/27/2020.
The majority of market data analyzed here is from 6/1/2020 through 10/27/2020. Analyses presented here take into account various factors
including coin prices, trading volumes, coin movements on and off-chain, global trends related to crypto assets, and index data from
regional east Asia and global indexes. The data sources vary from exchanges and wallet addresses known to be located in various parts
of the globe, specifically east Asia, along with data points collected by Chainalysis.
The goal of this report is to display in ample detail the apparent trends in the South Korean crypto assets market pertaining to Q3 2020.
Readers can benefit from this data to help identify long-term trends in the South Korean market and to address overarching patterns that
may be forming regarding technical analysis for investing, geopolitical concerns, or a host of other issues. Readers should take the
analyses made as objective observations rather than subjective trading tips. If readers wish to use this report as a factor in their investing
strategy, they should use it as only a single piece of research to be added to other pieces rather than as a substantial oracle on which to
rely.
We at Xangle hope to increase the transparency of the crypto assets market with this report. The raw facts and subsequent analyses
offer a broad picture of the South Korean market that currently no other firm provides in such detail. Xangle brings transparency and
accountability to the crypto assets scene by making information accessible and understandable to everyone. Institutionalizing public
disclosures is at the core of this mission. We build other supplementary tools, such as this report, that make decision-making easier and
more efficient for all concerned parties. We envision a world where crypto assets are better understood and adopted by the masses
which will enable new economies to offer fresh opportunities for stake holders. We take pride in this report and hope it helps you, the
reader, understand in greater clarity the South Korean crypto assets market. overlooked
With Full Transparency
-The Xangle Team
A Message from the Xangle Team
on the South Korean Crypto Market Overview, November 2020

3. 1. Market overview
by Statistics

4. 17th
$93B
16%+250
2nd
$12B
The Korean crypto
assets market is a
force to be
reckoned with.

5. 38.0
35.0
15.3
0.8
5.4
6.0
2.2
0.10
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
6/1~9/30 10/1~10/27
(KRWt)
More than 77 crypto assets exchanges are based in South Korea
Accumulated transaction volume over the past 5 months of the 4 big exchanges is valued at $93 billion (6/1~10/27)
List of Korean crypto assets exchanges Transaction volume in KRW (trillions) of the 4 big
exchanges

6. 23
105
116
130
0 50 100 150
33%
67%
한국 프로젝트 해외 프로젝트
Trading
volume
Market Cap Project symbol
1 $102m TMTG
2 $7m ANW
3 $5m FLETA
4 N/A KLAY
5 N/A AHT
6 $7m EGG
7 $12m MLK
8 $19m BORA
9 N/A GOM2
10 $9m FCT
Top 10 projects by transaction volume
More than 260 projects are available for trading in Korea
33% of the projects listed on the 4 big exchanges are based in Korea
Number of available assets to trade on the 4 big exchanges –
Over 100 assets traded on 3 of the 4 big exchanges
are based in Korea
33% of the projects listed on the 4 big
exchanges are Korea-based
Korea-
based
Non-Korea
based

7. 26.0%
15.3%
0
10
20
30
40
50
전체 시장 (CMC 기준) 한국
(%)
11.5% 5.96%
0
20
40
60
80
100
상장 거래대금
디파이 외 디파이
(%)
Investment in altcoins is high and decoupled with global trends
Bitcoin accounts for only 15% of the total trading volume on the 4 big exchanges.
Additionally, the number and significance of DeFi token listings since Q2 fell far below global trends.
Bitcoin trading volume ratio:
CMC 26.0% vs the 4 big exchanges in Korea 15.3%
DeFi tokens trading ratio: 5.96%
Global average (CMC) Korea
Listing Trading volume
DeFi
Non-De
Fi

8. South Korea ranks 17th out of 154 countries
on our global crypto asset adoption index
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
Level of Adoption
Components of index:
On-chain value received
weighted by purchasing power parity
per capita
On-chain retail value
(from transfers < $10K). weighted by
purchasing power parity per capita
On-chain number of deposits
weighted by number of internet users
P2P trade volume
weighted by purchasing power parity
per capita & number of internet users
1.
2.
3.
4.
Sources:
Chainalysis, LocalBitcoins, Paxful via CoinDance, SimilarWeb, The World Bank
Currencies included:
BAT, BCH, BTC, BUSD, CRO, CRPT, DAI, ETH, GNO, GUSD, HT, HUSD, ICN, LEO, LINK, LTC, MCO, MKR,
MLN, OMG, PAX, PAXG, TGBP, TUSD, USDC, USDT, WETH, ZIL, ZRX
Global crypto assets adoption index heat map
Very High
None

9. South Korea ranks 2nd out of 6 countries
on our East Asian crypto asset adoption index
East Asian crypto assets adoption index heat map
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
Sources:
Chainalysis, LocalBitcoins, Paxful via CoinDance, SimilarWeb, The World Bank
Currencies included:
BAT, BCH, BTC, BUSD, CRO, CRPT, DAI, ETH, GNO, GUSD, HT, HUSD, ICN, LEO, LINK, LTC, MCO, MKR,
MLN, OMG, PAX, PAXG, TGBP, TUSD, USDC, USDT, WETH, ZIL, ZRX
Components of index:
On-chain value received
weighted by purchasing power parity
per capita
On-chain retail value
(from transfers < $10K). weighted by
purchasing power parity per capita
On-chain number of deposits
weighted by number of internet users
P2P trade volume
weighted by purchasing power
parity per capita & number of
internet users
1.
2.
3.
4.
South Korea
ranks 2nd in crypto
asset usage in East
Asia, just behind China
Level of Adoption
Very High
None

10. South Korea ranks 3rd out of 154 countries
in terms of on-chain volume received globally
South Korea
took in $22B worth of
crypto assets on-
chain in the past year
Sources:
Chainalysis, SimilarWeb
Currencies included:
BAT, BCH, BTC, BUSD, CRO, CRPT, DAI, ETH, GNO, GUSD, HT, HUSD, ICN, LEO, LINK, LTC, MCO, MKR,
MLN, OMG, PAX, PAXG, TGBP, TUSD, USDC, USDT, WETH, ZIL, ZRX
Top 20 countries by value received on-chain in USD,
Jul ‘19 – Jun ‘20

11. South Korea ranks 2nd in terms of on-chain value received
among 6 East Asian countries
East Asian countries’ value received on-chain in USD,
Jul ‘19 – Jun ‘20
South Korea
took in $22B worth
of crypto assets on-
chain in the past
year
Sources:
Chainalysis, SimilarWeb
Currencies included:
BAT, BCH, BNB, BTC, BUSD, CRO, CRPT, DAI, ETH, GNO, GUSD, HT, HUSD, ICN, LEO, LINK, LTC, MCO,
MKR, MLN, OMG, PAX, PAXG, TGBP, TUSD, USDC, USDT, WETH, ZIL, ZRX

12. South Korea ranks 4th in terms of P2P trading volume
among 6 East Asian countries
East Asian countries’ value received on-chain in USD,
Jul ‘19 – Jun ‘20
South Korea
drove $3.2M worth
of P2P volume in the
past year
Sources:
Chainalysis, LocalBits, Paxful via CoinDance, SimilarWeb
Currencies included:
BTC

13. South Korea’s total and illicit value sent and received on-chain
Jul ’19 – Jun ‘20
Please note:
illicit values are estimated based the region’s
share of illicit activity on average and could
therefore be higher or lower.
Sources:
Chainalysis, SimilarWeb
Currencies included:
BAT, BCH, BTC, BUSD, CRO, CRPT, DAI, ETH, GNO, GUSD, HT,
HUSD, ICN, LEO, LINK, LTC, MCO, MKR, MLN, OMG, PAX, PAXG,
TGBP, TUSD, USDC, USDT, WETH, ZIL, ZRX
Illicit categories:
child abuse material, darknet markets, ransomware,
sanctions, scams, stolen funds, terrorism financing
South Korea
ranks 3rd for
value received
out of all 154
countries
globally
1.6%
Share of illicit
value received
$21.9B
On-chain value
received by
South Korea
$351M
Illicit value received
by South Korea
0.7%
Share of illicit
value sent
$22.2B
On-chain value sent
by South Korea
$156M
Illicit value sent
by South Korea

14. 2. Crypto Assets Market
Services & Adoption
Developments

15. [1]
[2]
10/01 09/02 07/22 03/05 12/08 11/27 11/25 08/12 03/25
06/2006/0105/3105/0102/1801/1601/14
12/28 12/13 12/12 12/11 12/05 09/29 09/01 07/31 11/01 12/0112/13
20% tax rate
proposed for
profits made from
crypto assets
trading
Search
and
Seizure at
Bithumb
2020 Tax Law:
Classifies income from crypto
assets trading as other income,
effectively making it Income Tax
Ministry of Economy and Finance
Enforcement decree of the
Act on the reporting and use
of certain financial
transaction information
passed in National Assembly
Plan to reenforce
decree of the Act on
reporting taxes
Ministry of Economy and
Finance
UpBit
hacking
incident
58billion won
Revised
enforcement
passed the
National
Policy Committee
Revised Enforcement
Decree of the Specific
Financial Transaction
Information Act
[Act on Blockchain
Promotion] Proposed
by 10 members
pending at the National
Assembly
2017 2016 2012
2018
201920202021
Bithumb
hacking
incident
35billion won
01/02
Announcement of
'Blockchain Technology
Development Strategy'
to Support Private-led
Growth
Ministry of Science and ICT
Investigati
on at UpBit
for fraud
and etc.
「 Grand debate
for the promotion
of the Blockchain
industry 」
National Assembly
High possibility
that The Bank of
Korea categorizes
crypto as an asset
<Digital Times>
"It is not right for
each ministry pre-
releases and seen
as a confusion.”
Moon Jae-in,
president of South Korea
Follow-up and
supplementary
measures on
crypto assets
Financial Services
Commission
Launch of
‘Crypto asset
Response Team'
Financial Services
Commission
“Crypto
asset rally
will cool off”
Choi Hong-sik,
Director of
Financial
Services
Commission
Crypto
Assets TF,
Transfers to
Justice
Department
Announcemen
t of Emergency
Measures of
crypto assets
Vice Ministers
Meeting of
related
Departments
Imposing a
fine on
Bithumb
(60 million
KRW)
Communication
s Commission
‘Under review of
regulations
including ban on
Bitcoin
transactions'
Choi Jong-ku, Director
of the Financial
Services Commission
A Study on Tax
Criteria and
Taxation
Direction for
Crypto
Joint Public Administ
ration Reform
Committee and Kor
ea
Institute of
Public Finance
Additional
launch of
Crypto Assets TF:
Exploring strict regula
tions on crypto trans
actions
Pan-
government
legislative
discussion in
earnest
Full Ban on
ICO
Financial
Services
Commission
Amendments
of the
Electronic
Financial
Transactions
Act
Discussion on
forming Crypto
Assets TF
Financial Services
Commission, Ministry of
Economy and Finance
Bank of Korea
Launch 'Blockchain
Council’
Financial Services
Commission
Initial launch
of the crypto
assets team
Financial Services
Commission
[1] The government concerned that crypto asset trading could be overheated and cause more damage by increasing crimes.
[2] Since the remark, Bitcoin on Korea's main stock exchange has plummeted by about 33% over three hours.
[3] The tax law and the Enforcement decree are limited in terms of institutionalization of crypto assets, as they are intended to taxation and preventing money launder.
01/12
Announce the
Special Law
on Repealing
Crypto
Exchanges
Park Sang-ki,
Justice Minister
[3]

16. Sector Listed entity Market cap rank
Financial
16th Expanding investment/cooperation in exchanges and applying for the trademark 'KBDAC'
31st Signing an MOU on 'Blockchain-based Investment in Real Estate'
19th Developing CBDC and signing an MOU with Kasa Korea Securities
87th Developing custodial platform for institutions and forming a consortium for responding to the enforcement decree
315th Investing in Xangle; developing STO; and crypto exchange acquisition
20rd Issuing and providing local crypto assets based on blockchain;
Participation in a 10 billion KRW fund created by Consensys
78th Joined Klaytn’s governance council by Ground X
More than 15 large companies work in the crypto assets business in Korea
8 of the 14 are positioned in the top-50 market capitalization on KOSPI.
More than 16 percent of the top-50 companies are engaged in crypto assets business.
Tech / Telecom
1st Launching dAPP and providing crypto asset wallet service
22nd ‘ThingQ Wallet’ trademark; experience developing CBDC and Magok local crypto assets
10th Launching public blockchain ‘Klaytn’ and entering NFT market
3rd Line; launching Bitmex wallet in Japan; supporting CBDC and issuing LINK
45th Supporting 10 billion KRW worth of local crypto assets for Gimpo City
Other N/A Acquisition of crypto exchanges Bitstamp and Korbit
*As of November 18th

17. 3. Comments from
Industry Insiders

18. These days, investors are starting to invest based on confirmed
information, not rumors. There is also the growing tendency to
invest in data-driven markets.
Based on trends we can see at Xangle, consumers value
disclosure, research, and audits more than they have before.
The Korean investment market is developing alongside users and
exchanges.
Leading exchanges in Korea now strive to expand investment
opportunities beyond trading. They also hope to intensify the
information transparency and verification process for the entire
industry.
1. What are the latest trends among Korean crypto investors? 2. What are the latest trends among Korean crypto exchanges?
Xangle is a global crypto asset disclosure platform aiming to bring transparency and trust
to the crypto asset market so that users can easily access and understand the
information.

19. 1. What are the main characteristics of SK
regional on-chain activities?
Kim Grauer, Head of Research-
“We find that our activities in South Korea are
predominately driven by large on-chain
transfers rather than P2P, retail, and others.
Ranked at number 17 in our index and number 8
in terms of on-chain activity, South Korea has a
strong professional market that we expect to
continue to grow over the coming years.”
2. How do you see SK moving forward in
AML-related preparations for crypto assets?
Jesse Spiro, Global Head of Policy-
"In short- this is a strict regime, aligning with some of
the more advanced regulatory regimes that we
have seen initiated over the last two years. In
preparation for the industry, they need compliance
programs in place, and to potentially introduce new
measures on their customers and operations. This is
potentially very costly but will curb much of the illicit
activity that has been previously successful in the SK
ecosystem (fraud, scams, ML)."
Chainalysis is a blockchain analysis company that provides compliance and
investigation software to the world’s leading banks, businesses, and governments.

20. Bithumb is one of the most popular crypto assets trading platforms in South Korea. By trading volume, they
rank among the top 2 most used exchanges between Korea and Japan.
1. What trends from the 2020 crypto market
stood out the most?
The clearest trend that came out of the 2020 digital asset
market was how digital assets emerged as an asset class that
many now consider as part of finance. This is in contrast to
almost all the previous years, even up to last year, when the
digital asset market was full of investors seeking high-risk/high-
return investments.
Starting this year, we have seen a significant influx of
traditional finance firms enter the market. Financial institutions
such as Shinhan, Kookmin, Hana, and NH Bank have announced
plans to begin providing custodial services for their clients’
digital assets.
Due to the change in society brought on by Coronavirus,
government entities and financial authorities are handling the
market in a clearly different way. For example, Korea’s
legislative branch, National Assembly, passed the Special Act on
Reporting and Use of Certain Financial Transaction Information
in March and announced the revised Enforcement Decree in
November. Tax law reforms, which will likely lead to taxation on
income from digital asset trading gains, are now being
discussed by respective government ministries.
2. What are your plans as Korea’s leading digital
asset exchange?
Above all, when the revised Special Reporting Act goes into effect
in March 2021, only the exchanges that meet the FSC’s
qualifications will be allowed to operate. As a result, the situation in
the market will be completely different when those unqualified
exchanges are required to close their doors.
We will take specific guided actions in order to cope with the
changes coming to the digital assets market. Bithumb's most
important strategy is to predict how the changes will affect us,
prepare a plan of action, and follow the plans we set.
First, Bithumb plans to reorganize our operations by introducing a
framework similar to that of traditional financial institutions
regulated by financial authorities.
Then, in the long-term, we will work to have the Business Rights Act
enacted so digital assets can be legally recognized as a part of fi
nance. Through this, Bithumb will expand into the finance business
based on blockchain and virtual real estate.
Finally, we intend to become a company that leads the vitalization
of the digital asset ecosystem by devoting time and resources to
the development of core blockchain technologies. This can be
done by fostering the growth of startups.

21. Thank you
Disclaimer:
All the information used in this report comes from Xangle, a leading crypto disclosure platform.
Information on Xangle is sourced directly from related institutions or through the Xangle Research team. While we have taken all available measures to ensure its reliability,
it is possible that some details have gone unobserved.