South Korea’s crypto exchange sector is showing a mixed picture: major platforms are still expanding internally, even as the broader market loses momentum.
According to the report, the combined workforce of leading Korean exchanges Upbit and Bithumb almost doubled over four years, rising from 682 employees at the end of 2021 to 1,334 by the end of 2025. The increase suggests that top exchanges continue to invest in staffing and operational capacity despite a softer market backdrop.
User Base Expands, but Growth Slows Sharply
Verified users at Korean won-based exchanges also continued to rise, climbing from 5.58 million in 2021 to 11.13 million in 2025. However, the pace of new user acquisition has weakened significantly. The report says the growth rate of new users dropped from 25% in the second half of 2024 to just 3% in the same period of 2025.
That slowdown indicates that while the market still retains a large user base, the earlier phase of rapid expansion may be fading. For exchanges, growing headcount in such an environment may reflect efforts to strengthen compliance, operations, product development, and customer support ahead of future competition.
Weak Market Conditions and Limited Services in Focus
The report suggests that lower inflows of new users may be tied to weaker market performance. Another likely factor is the relatively narrow service offering of Korean exchanges, which remain focused primarily on spot trading.
As the global crypto industry evolves, the dependence on spot products could become a structural limitation for domestic platforms in South Korea. The continued increase in staffing shows that exchanges are still positioning for long-term opportunities, but the sharp slowdown in user growth suggests that traditional trading services alone may no longer be enough to sustain the market’s earlier pace.