Chainalysis said in its East Asia Crypto Adoption Report, released on Oct. 5, that crypto activity across East Asia shrank slightly during the global bear market between July 2025 and June 2026, but the region’s internal structure has started to diverge more clearly.
According to the report, South Korea remains the largest retail trading center in East Asia. Hong Kong is developing into a settlement hub for institutional capital, Japanese users are moving more quickly toward decentralized exchanges and perpetual futures, and peer-to-peer stablecoin use in mainland China continues to expand.
South Korea ranked first in regional crypto economy size
Chainalysis estimated South Korea’s crypto economy at $449.1 billion during the period, up 12.3% from the previous cycle and still the largest in East Asia. Japan, Hong Kong, mainland China, and Taiwan were estimated at $228.3 billion, $192.2 billion, $176.3 billion, and $140.4 billion, respectively.
The report said South Korea’s growth was driven mainly by increased flows tied to trading platforms, with about $51.1 billion in new inflows added to the local exchange ecosystem.
AI tokens became the standout theme in South Korea
The most notable shift in the South Korean market came from AI token trading, according to Chainalysis. As of June 2026, AI-related crypto assets had become the largest thematic segment in KRW-denominated trading, overtaking payment-focused tokens such as XRP.
Among individual assets, Worldcoin (WLD) recorded $7.41 billion in trading volume during the observation period. SAHARA, VIRTUAL, BIO, and NEAR also ranked among the active tokens.
Chainalysis said the share of KRW-denominated AI token trading was about 19.5 times that of the JPY market, a sign that South Korean retail traders are extending their AI investment preference from the domestic stock market into crypto.
Institutional capital is still in the preparation stage
The report also said institutional capital in South Korea remains in a preparation phase. Local banks and securities firms have broadly set up digital asset teams and are advancing pilots in stablecoins, custody, and tokenization, but direct corporate participation in crypto investment has not yet reached scale.
Chainalysis added that if South Korea’s planned crypto asset gains tax is implemented in 2027 as scheduled, and if restrictions on corporate trading continue to ease, the country’s retail-dominated market structure could be reassessed.