Executive Summary
The first half of 2025 witnessed a significant evolution in how South Korean cryptocurrency users interact with digital assets. Activity has expanded beyond centralized exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb into various on-chain ecosystems, signaling market maturation and more sophisticated user engagement.
South Korean users maintain substantial Ethereum holdings with consistent mainnet participation. Base has seen gradual growth in user engagement through decentralized applications (dApps), while Solana attracts the largest number of users with high activity levels, albeit with higher churn rates due to meme coin fatigue.
This analysis reveals that South Korean cryptocurrency users exhibit distinct behavioral patterns across different blockchains, demonstrating that they cannot be categorized with a single trait. Effective market strategies require systematic user segmentation combined with both qualitative and quantitative analysis.
South Korean On-Chain Activity Overview: H1 2025
South Korea's crypto market has developed a multi-layered structure that extends well beyond exchange-centric activities. While centralized exchange volumes remain high, on-chain activity has been growing rapidly, creating a more diverse market ecosystem.
The IXO 2025 event held on January 24-25, 2025, further confirmed this market transformation. During the opening ceremony, TokenPost CEO Kim Ji-ho noted that South Korean digital asset investors now exceed 10 million, indicating that cryptocurrency markets have moved beyond niche technical communities to establish connections with mainstream audiences.
International participants are increasingly seeking to understand South Korean on-chain user participation patterns, moving beyond the outdated perception of Korea as purely exchange-focused. However, analyzing Korean user characteristics remains challenging due to difficulties in systematically obtaining relevant on-chain data.
This report examines approximately 80,000 wallet addresses to provide insights into South Korean user behavior patterns across Ethereum, Base, and Solana ecosystems during the first half of 2025. The findings offer practical insights for global projects considering entry into the South Korean market.
Korean User Characteristics Across Blockchains
Activity Timing Patterns
South Korean users demonstrate significantly different participation patterns across blockchains, with notable variations in active hours:
Ethereum and Base users concentrate their transactions during regular waking hours from 9 AM to 11 PM, aligning with typical daily activity patterns.
Solana users show markedly different behavior, with transaction peaks occurring during overnight hours from midnight to 8 AM. This pattern emerges because Solana has developed a trading-centric ecosystem where major token launches and activities align with North American time zones. Even during early morning hours, South Korean users remain actively engaged when markets are busy.
This demonstrates South Korean users' high adaptability to global markets and their active investment tendencies that transcend time zone adjustments. Users appear unwilling to miss global opportunities, with behaviors that transcend geographical limitations to align with global crypto market rhythms.
Asset Distribution Analysis
Asset distribution varies significantly across different blockchains. Based on collected wallet data, South Korean users hold approximately $400 million in Ethereum assets—roughly nine times the combined assets on Base and Solana chains.
This difference is primarily driven by large wallet holdings rather than the number of wallets. Whale wallets (holding over $1 million) and middle-class accounts (over $100,000) represent a substantial proportion of Ethereum holdings. The Ethereum ecosystem includes 116 whale wallets with an average holding of $2.5 million each.
Solana presents a different asset distribution pattern. Retail wallets (holding under $100) constitute 99.9% of all wallets, with average holdings of just $30. However, a small number of whale wallets average over $8 million, creating the most extreme polarization of asset distribution.
These patterns reveal different investment tendencies among South Korean users across chains. Ethereum attracts conservative large-scale investors focused on stability, while Solana draws numerous retail investors seeking high returns through meme coins and launchpad opportunities. Base attracts medium-level investors between these two extremes, demonstrating the diversified nature of South Korea's user base rather than concentration around specific investment tendencies.
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User Activity Trends
Ethereum maintains consistent transaction volumes relatively unaffected by market volatility or external events. Korean users on Ethereum focus more on utility activities, participating in practical dApp usage, asset custody, and governance activities rather than DeFi-centric trading.
In contrast, Base and Solana transactions show sensitivity to overall cryptocurrency market sentiment and short-term events. Transaction volumes surged during the cryptocurrency price increase at the beginning of the year, briefly declined, then rose again in May when Bitcoin surpassed $100,000.
While Base and Solana show similar transaction trends, they differ in daily active user metrics. Solana experiences higher user churn rates due to its meme coin launchpad structure and short-term event focus. Despite having fewer loyal users, Base demonstrates steady growth in active users thanks to diverse dApps and consumer service adoption.
dApp Usage Patterns
dApp usage patterns further reveal differences in how South Korean users engage with various blockchains:
Solana activity remains heavily trading-focused, with Korean users primarily concentrated on DeFi transactions. Stablecoin usage remains relatively low, with SOL trading pairs dominating activity.
On Ethereum and Base, users more actively participate in remittance and deposit activities, predominantly using USDT or USDC. These chains host diverse practical use cases. The Kaito InfoFi service on Base has become a major attraction driver, currently ranking third on the Base network. South Korean users respond positively to reward structures, showing tendency toward yield generation through token staking and incentive claims.
Strategic Implications for Market Entry
The analysis of approximately 80,000 South Korean cryptocurrency users' on-chain activities provides valuable insights for developing effective market entry strategies.
Most importantly, South Korean users cannot be treated as a homogeneous group. Compared to other markets, Korean users demonstrate deeper engagement with cryptocurrency ecosystems, with characteristics manifesting in three primary aspects:
First, South Korean users exhibit strong adaptability to global markets. The overnight activity on Solana demonstrates participation that transcends time zones, with users unwilling to miss global cryptocurrency opportunities. Their behaviors exceed geographical limitations, synchronizing with the rhythm of the global crypto ecosystem.
Second, strategic and investment preferences show significant differentiation across chains. The same Korean users behave as conservative investors prioritizing stability on Ethereum, become return-seeking speculative investors on Solana, and demonstrate moderate tendencies on Base. This strategic differentiation creates a hierarchy based on investment purpose and risk preference. Users optimize their participation strategies according to each ecosystem's characteristics and culture, illustrating the complexity of the South Korean user base.
Third, users show strong interest in incentive-based services. They actively engage with these offerings, as demonstrated by Kaito's rapid rise on Base. Korean users enthusiastically participate in yield activities through token staking and reward systems. On-chain data confirms this trend, with Kaito separately ranking Korean users on leaderboards and some projects specifically expanding reward pools for Korean users.
Global projects considering entry into the South Korean market need to develop customized strategies aligned with these user characteristics. South Korea represents a balanced market without specific biases toward particular stages or project types.
Strategy development should prioritize blockchain selection that matches target user segmentation. South Korean users exhibit significantly different expectations and behaviors across different chains.
At the operational level, providing services based on North American time zones doesn't present major obstacles, allowing global operational systems to be incorporated into long-term expansion plans.
User acquisition and retention require clear and sustainable incentive structures. South Korean users show high sensitivity to token staking and reward systems, responding more positively to long-term engagement structures than short-term campaigns.
Most importantly, these users should be regarded as ecosystem development partners rather than simply customers. This perspective shift can significantly enhance engagement and loyalty.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes South Korean cryptocurrency users unique?
South Korean users demonstrate exceptional adaptability to global markets, often participating across multiple time zones. They maintain diverse investment strategies across different blockchains, ranging from conservative Ethereum holdings to speculative Solana engagements. Their strong response to incentive structures and sophisticated understanding of market dynamics sets them apart from many other regional user bases.
How do activity patterns differ between Ethereum and Solana users in South Korea?
Ethereum users typically engage during regular daytime hours (9 AM-11 PM) and focus on utility activities like dApp usage, asset custody, and governance. Solana users show peak activity during overnight hours (midnight-8 AM) and concentrate heavily on trading activities, particularly meme coins and launchpad opportunities, aligning with North American market hours.
What should international projects consider when entering the South Korean market?
Projects should develop customized strategies for different blockchain ecosystems rather than treating South Korean users as a monolithic group. Understanding the different investment mentalities across Ethereum (conservative), Base (moderate), and Solana (speculative) is crucial. Implementation should include sustainable incentive structures, consideration of time zone adaptability, and treatment of users as ecosystem partners rather than mere customers.
Why do South Korean users show such different asset distributions across chains?
The differences reflect varying risk appetites and investment strategies. Ethereum attracts larger, more conservative investors seeking stability, resulting in higher average holdings. Solana appeals to retail investors pursuing high returns through speculative opportunities, creating a polarized distribution with many small wallets and a few very large ones. Base occupies a middle ground between these extremes.
How effective are incentive programs for South Korean users?
South Korean users respond exceptionally well to structured incentive programs, particularly those involving token staking and sustainable reward systems. Short-term campaigns show limited effectiveness compared to long-term engagement structures. The successful adoption of services like Kaito on Base demonstrates the effectiveness of properly structured incentive models.
What time considerations are important when engaging South Korean users?
While Korean users are adaptable to global time zones, optimal engagement varies by platform. Ethereum and Base activities align with local waking hours (9 AM-11 PM), while Solana engagement peaks during overnight hours (midnight-8 AM) to coincide with North American market activity. This flexibility allows international projects to implement global operational systems without major adjustments.