Won Overtakes USD as World’s Most Traded Fiat for Crypto Transactions

In the first quarter of 2024, the South Korean won has surpassed the US dollar as the world’s most heavily traded fiat currency against cryptocurrencies.

According to a report by Kaiko on April 15, the won accounted for a trading volume of over $456 billion on centralized crypto exchanges, overtaking the US dollar’s $455 billion in volume.

The report attributes the won’s increased dominance to the fierce competition and “fee war” among Korean crypto exchanges.

In early March, trade volume on Korean markets hit a record high in over two years due to the improving macroeconomic environment and intense competition.

In contrast, Euro-denominated trading pairs only saw a cumulative volume of $59 billion, placing them in third place for the first quarter of 2024. Since 2021, Upbit has been the dominant cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea, holding over 82% of the market share.