Half of big crypto investors are over 50

The number of cryptocurrency investors in South Korea surpassed 9.6 million last year, marking a more than 50% increase from the previous year. One in four investors was over the age of 50.

According to data obtained by Rep. Ahn Do-gul of the Democratic Party on March 21 from five domestic cryptocurrency exchanges — Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX — the total number of individual investors holding active trading accounts at the end of 2023 reached 9,667,023. (Korbit's data reflects figures from the end of September.) This represents a 52.6% increase — or an additional 3.33 million accounts — compared to a year earlier. The total value of cryptocurrencies held by these investors surpassed 105 trillion won.

Notably, the number of investors in their 50s and 60s surged significantly. The number of investors in their 50s jumped 56.4% year-over-year to 1.75 million, while those aged 60 and older grew 52.6% from 371,800 to 636,700 over the same period.

Among so-called "whales" — investors holding more than 1 billion won in crypto — nearly half were aged 50 or older. Of the 9,135 individuals in this category, 3,215 (35.2%) were in their 50s, and 1,817 (19.9%) were 60 or older. On average, these older high-value investors each held about 2.15 billion won worth of digital assets. Rep. Ahn stressed the need to establish a minimum regulatory framework promptly, citing the growing number of older investors and the associated need for investor protection.


홍석호 will@donga.com