The number of South Korean-won-based cryptocurrencies listed on the country’s top five digital asset exchanges this year has nearly matched the total for all of last year, data showed on Monday.

According to data compiled by Maeil Business Newspaper, Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax have listed a combined 229 cryptocurrencies this year as of Monday. The figure represents 85.44 percent of the 268 listings recorded in all of 2024.

Both Upbit and Bithumb have already surpassed last year’s full-year totals, with 37 and 84 listings respectively.

The increased activity is tied to a broader upswing in crypto valuations. The total global crypto market cap has risen from $3.25 trillion at the start of the year to nearly $4 trillion. Bitcoin recently hit a new all-time high of $123,218 on July 14.

Capital has been flowing rapidly into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed in the U.S., with $13.7 billion in net inflows during the first half of the year.

As a result, Korean exchanges have stepped up their listing activity to meet renewed investor appetite.

Daily trading volume across Korea’s top five exchanges reached 9.2 trillion won ($6.7 billion) on July 20, according to CoinGecko. That marks a strong recovery after trading volume remained below 5 trillion won for much of the second quarter.

Altcoins have played a key role in this rebound.

While Korean investors generally favor altcoins over Bitcoin, the market had been sluggish amid Bitcoin’s solo rally. That began to change on July 9, when Bitcoin dominance—the portion of total market cap accounted for by Bitcoin—fell below 60 percent for the first time in 134 days, according to TradingView.

Since peaking at 64.61 percent on July 14, Bitcoin dominance has dropped 4 percentage points in just one week, reflecting a broad rotation into altcoins.

Ethereum has led the charge, hitting a year-to-date high of $3,819.4 on July 21 and surpassing its previous peak of $3,687.78 set in January.

Ethereum’s momentum stems from growing interest in Ethereum spot ETFs and increased institutional accumulation.

According to SoSoValue, $2.18 billion flowed into U.S.-listed Ethereum spot ETFs during the week of July 14–18, the largest weekly inflow since their launch in July 2024.

Some companies now hold more Ethereum than the Ethereum Foundation itself. For example, Bitmine Immersion Technology (BMNR) and SharpLink Gaming reportedly hold 300,657 and 280,706 ETH, respectively.

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