What happened?
South Korea’s biggest crypto exchange, Upbit, handled about 71.6% of domestic trading volume in the first half of 2025, dwarfing smaller rivals. Its operator Dunamu is moving ahead with a proposed merger with internet giant Naver, while Bithumb trails at roughly 25.8% and other exchanges are barely registering. Regulators’ data show tiny daily volumes and user counts for Coinone, Korbit and GOPAX, prompting fresh monopoly concerns.
Who does this affect?
Retail and institutional crypto traders in South Korea are most affected because liquidity, listings and pricing power are increasingly concentrated on Upbit. Smaller exchanges, their employees and investors face shrinking market share and possible extinction if consolidation continues. Lawmakers, regulators and competing platforms like Bithumb (which plans a NASDAQ listing) are also drawn into the dispute over competition and oversight.
Why does this matter?
Market concentration like this can raise fees, limit where new tokens get listed, and amplify systemic risk if one platform has problems. A Naver–Dunamu deal or a big Bithumb IPO could either entrench Upbit’s dominance or shift power, but either outcome reshapes competitive dynamics and investor choice. For the broader market, less competition tends to reduce innovation and increase regulatory scrutiny, which can affect liquidity, trading costs and asset prices across Korean crypto markets.