Since 2016, Korean users have become more and more engaged in Ethereum transactions. This reiterated trend points to the growing role of onchain spaces in Korea’s crypto ecosystem, going beyond centralized exchanges. A new analysis of nearly 60,000 Korean user wallets on Ethereum’s booming ecosystem sheds key light on this changing landscape. Throughout the use-case period that we analyzed, users primarily traded ‘asset transfers,’ with transaction volumes peaking in December 2024.
Although high-value transactions (greater than $1,000) and their volumes declined, small-value transactions (less than $1,000) and their volumes increased. Due to the market downturn, transaction volumes were down across the board in Q1 2025. Even the number of active wallet addresses was down, with a major drop-off in acquiring new users. Despite these issues, inflows from Korean crypto trading platforms reached record highs. More importantly, this increase is indicative of a strong desire among investors to look beyond their own borders for investment opportunities.
This is a sign that Korean users are committing to the Ethereum ecosystem for the long term. Users primarily use Metamask as their main wallet and rely on its native wallet to swap and bridge feature functionality for convenience. Korea’s tough regulatory environment adds to the pace of its market’s transformation. In turn, this has increased demand for cryptos/ Stablecoins on global exchanges, as opposed to Korean Exchanges.
Analyzing Korean Ethereum User Behavior
Here’s how we tracked about 60,000 Korean user wallets in the Ethereum ecosystem. Apart from their latest activity report, this analysis brings you a deeper look into their onchain activities. This in-depth analysis provides a clear understanding of various trends and preferences that lead the Korean cryptocurrency market. By examining transaction patterns, wallet usage, and engagement with various decentralized applications (dApps), the report provides meaningful insights into the behavior of Korean users in the Ethereum ecosystem.
Korean users primarily engaged in 'asset transfers' during the analyzed period, indicating a focus on moving and managing their cryptocurrency holdings. That’s a textbook example of a powerful, real-world application for Ethereum. Users are more interested in basic transactional use cases than complex DeFi workflows. The popularity for such asset transfers further underscores the need for easy-to-use interfaces and fast transaction completion in the Ethereum ecosystem.
This is especially interesting as the analysis has shown that about 6% of all active users participated in NFT-related transactions. Among Korean users, there is a huge demand and interest in digital collectibles like NFTs and blockchain-based art. Even this segment is smaller than asset transfers. The Korean Ethereum community’s full acceptance of NFTs is just one reflection of the more artistic sensibilities taking hold. Others are exploring the prospective uses of non-fungible tokens, looking past simple cryptocurrency speculation.
Transaction Trends and Market Dynamics
By December 2024, transaction activity in the Korean Ethereum ecosystem hit an all-time high. This wave followed extraordinary market activity and increased user activity on the platform. Later market corrections resulted in category and transactional changes in value and volume. High-value transactions (over $1,000) and their volumes dropped, showing a more conservative strategy from bigger investors.
We observed a spike in volume for small-value transactions (those under $1,000). This large increase indicates that retail investors are getting increasingly involved with Ethereum. This change reflects a wider spread of cryptocurrency ownership and a growing trend among smaller investors getting involved. The increasing popularity of smaller-value transactions is further indicative of the growing accessibility of Ethereum to a broader, more diverse audience.
Small-value transactions mostly improved, although the State and City markets fell together into a perfect storm of negative news in Q1 2025. This trend led to decreased full dollar transaction volumes. The continuing decline represents the broader economic headwinds and bearish market sentiment that have affected the Korean Ethereum ecosystem. The decrease in transaction volumes underscores the importance of market stability and investor confidence in sustaining growth within the cryptocurrency sector.
Regulatory Impact and Future Outlook
Korea’s historically stringent regulatory environment is still setting the tone for the crypto market, deterring retail users’ activities and gaming platform of choice. The tough rules make it more profitable and attractive to trade cryptocurrencies and stablecoins on international exchanges instead of Korean exchanges. Korean users are demanding wider access to digital assets and trading opportunities. This change is indicative of their attempts to go outside the box and away from the limits of domestic rulemaking.
Money is pouring out of Korean crypto exchanges and onto external wallets, at an all-time high. This increase indicates that investors are increasingly looking for opportunities outside their home market. This trend underscores the growing sophistication of Korean cryptocurrency users, who are increasingly willing to explore international markets to find alpha and diversify their portfolios. This massive outflow of funds emphasizes the difficulties Korean exchanges are having in keeping their users and drawing in new investors.
Korean users demonstrate increasing long-term participation in the Ethereum ecosystem, indicating a growing confidence in the technology and its potential. The reason is that the majority of users use Metamask as their main wallet and like having its built-in swap and bridge features right there for convenience. With this preference comes a huge opportunity for user-friendly interfaces and seamless integration across the Ethereum ecosystem. This growing adoption of Metamask further implies that Korean users, whom you want to cater to, are in search of convenience and accessibility when managing their crypto assets.
