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Points of Focus
- Revenue at Upbit operator Dunamu fell 49.1% year-on-year in H1 2026, while Bithumb revenue dropped 48.7%.
- Customer deposits in won at the two exchanges fell 35.8% in six months, cutting combined balances by more than 2.8 trillion won.
- Lower trading activity is hitting fee-heavy exchange models as tighter VASP registration and AML rules raise compliance costs.
South Korea’s two largest crypto exchanges lost roughly half their revenue in the first six months of 2026 as trading slowed and customer cash balances fell sharply.
Upbit operator Dunamu reported 408.1 billion won in first-half revenue, down 49.1% from a year earlier. Operating profit fell 79.7% to 111.5 billion Korean won. Bithumb said 168.8 billion won in revenue, down 48.7%, while operating profit fell 83.4% to 14.9 billion won. Bithumb swung to a 108.7-billion-won net loss, according to the exchanges’ half-year filings.
Trading fees tracked the decline. Dunamu generated 395.5 billion won from trading-platform fees, or 96.9% of revenue, while Bithumb’s fee income fell by roughly half.
Customer cash leaves crypto exchanges
Won deposits held for customers on Dunamu and Bithumb fell from 7.87 trillion won at the end of 2025 to 5.05 trillion won at the end of June, a 35.8% decline.
Bithumb cited lower crypto trading value and investor attention moving toward equities among the factors behind its weaker results. Korean retail investors spent much of the first half chasing a domestic stock rally. After the Kospi later reversed, purchases of US equities rose sharply in July.
For exchanges built around transaction fees, capital moving elsewhere feeds quickly into revenue.
Regulation raises costs
Bithumb was fined 36.8 billion won in March over Anti-Money Laundering (AML) violations and received a six-month partial business suspension affecting some services for new users. A Seoul court later suspended the restriction, while the exchange challenges the sanction.
New VASP registration standards take effect Aug. 20, expanding scrutiny of major shareholders and executives and adding requirements around financial soundness, cybersecurity, and internal controls. Registrants must maintain a debt ratio of 200% or below.
AML requirements will tighten further six months after promulgation as Korea expands its Travel Rule to transfers of all sizes between registered VASPs and adds controls for some transfers involving overseas exchanges and personal wallets.
The regulatory push is also reaching products outside centralized exchanges. On Aug. 18, South Korea’s media regulator voted to block domestic access to Polymarket after concluding that its prediction markets create an illegal gambling environment.
The H1 revenue decline predates the Aug. 20 rules. Their impact will come later through additional compliance work at a time when fee income has already dropped sharply.
Dunamu spends, while Bithumb cuts
Dunamu has continued investing in staff, advertising, and IT, whereas Bithumb has reduced headcount and marketing spending.
Their first-half results show how exposed Korea’s largest exchanges remain to retail turnover. A recovery will depend on trading activity returning as both companies absorb higher compliance costs and compete with equities for Korean retail capital.
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