According to a March 30 report by local news agency Yonhap, data presented to Congressman Cha Gyu-geun of the Korea Reconstruction Party indicates that more than 16 million South Koreans have accounts on cryptocurrency exchanges, out of a total population of 51.7 million.
This represents more than 30% of the population. The data comes from the five major domestic virtual platforms - Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax - ensuring that people with multiple accounts are only counted once.
Industry experts speculate the number of cryptocurrency users could reach 20 million by the end of the year.
An unnamed official quoted by Yonhap noted:
"Some believe the crypto market has reached a saturation point, but there is still an endless possibility for growth compared with the matured stock market."