South Korea Leads East Asia’s Crypto Market Driven by AI Tokens
- South Korea’s crypto market reached $449.1 billion from July 2025 to June 2026, marking a year-over-year growth of 12.3%.
- Japan ranked second with a crypto economy of $228.3 billion, while Hong Kong followed at $192.2 billion.
- AI-linked tokens became the largest category in South Korea, with trading volume against the won being 19.5 times that against the Japanese yen.
- Worldcoin (WLD) led in volume with $7.41 billion, followed by SAHARA at $3.2 billion.
- Hong Kong’s institutional platforms accounted for 16% of its crypto inflows, significantly higher than other East Asian markets.
- China saw peer-to-peer transactions dominate its crypto economy, making up 59.1% despite a ban on crypto services.
The growth in South Korea was primarily fueled by retail trading in AI tokens and increased activity on centralized exchanges, which saw a volume rise of 16.3%. Meanwhile, Japan is shifting towards decentralized exchanges, reflecting evolving trading preferences in the region.
With South Korea’s market leading at $449.1 billion, it highlights the significant role of retail investors in driving cryptocurrency adoption through innovative token categories like AI assets.
