Seoul: The daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies in South Korea has surpassed the country's stock markets, with the total market capitalization of digital assets exceeding 100 trillion won ($74.8 billion), as reported by the Chosun Daily.

According to Anadolu Agency, despite having a market capitalization of about $70.2 billion in December, the crypto market experienced nearly $1.4 billion more in daily trading activity compared to the stock market, which had a market cap of over $1.6 billion. The average daily trading volume of South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges in December was $12 billion, or roughly 17% of total holdings. This trading activity significantly increased towards the end of the year, rising from $2.38 billion in October to $10.4 billion in November.

Notably, the crypto market's daily trading volume in December surpassed the combined average of the country's two primary stock exchanges, the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations and the Korea Composite Stock Price Index, which stood at $10.7 billion. As of the end of last year, the total value of digital assets owned by the nation's five main exchanges-Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX-was $73 billion, according to a 2024 report on payment and settlement systems published by the Bank of Korea.

Several global developments have contributed to the market boom and investor optimism in the sector, including the re-election of US President Donald Trump, who has shown support for cryptocurrencies, the implementation of the European Union's Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation, and the approval of spot crypto ETFs (exchange-traded funds) in both Hong Kong and the US. In November, South Korea's cryptocurrency market capitalization crossed the $70 billion threshold for the first time, nearly doubling from $40.7 billion in late October.