Value of crypto held by South Korean investors dropped from 121.8 trillion won (Jan 2025) to 60.6 trillion won (Feb 2026). Daily trading volume across five major exchanges fell to $3B in Feb from $11.6B in Dec 2024; won deposits at exchanges fell from 10.7 trillion won to 7.8 trillion won. Stablecoin holdings rose to $597M in Dec 2024 then eased to $41M in Feb 2026. Regulators will require automatic flags for crypto transactions over 10M won involving overseas exchanges or private wallets from August; industry body DAXA warns suspicious reports could increase ~85x. Government confirmed a 22% crypto gains tax effective Jan 1, 2027. Separately, Samsung SDS won a contract to build a blockchain securities platform due by Feb 2027.

Crypto holdings halved (121.8T → 60.6T won) and daily volumes fell ($11.6B → $3B), deposits dropped (10.7T → 7.8T won), and stablecoin balances collapsed (597M → 41M); regulators will add automatic AML flags for transactions >10M won (DAXA warns ~85x increase in suspicious reports) and a 22% gains tax was confirmed for 2027 — all concrete factors that point to reduced market participation and regulatory headwinds.