This photo, taken June 15, 2023, shows signboards showing price movements of bitcoin and other virtual currencies on a local exchange. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) — About half of South Korean adults have owned a digital asset like bitcoin at some point in the past, a survey showed Thursday.
The Korea Financial Consumers Protection Foundation conducted a survey of 2,500 people under 70 years of age, of whom 30 percent said they currently own a virtual asset.
Another 23 percent stated that they had previously owned a virtual asset, but no longer do.
Looking at the timing of the respondents’ initial purchase of a virtual asset, it was revealed that 74.5 percent had acquired one between 2020 and 2022 when there was a significant increase in market liquidity during the pandemic.
When asked about the reasons for owning a virtual asset, 80.9 percent said they wanted to make an investment.
Respondents who possessed less than 1 million won (US$757) in virtual assets constituted the largest proportion at 21.5 percent, followed by those owning 5-10 million won (17.4 percent), 10-30 million won (16.5 percent), and 1-3 million won (16.3 percent).
Regarding the investment status of current virtual asset owners, 33 percent reported making a profit, while 45.9 percent admitted to incurring losses.
Profit-earners reported an average profit rate of 25 percent, while those in the red reported an average loss of 41.5 percent.
When asked whether current virtual asset holders intended to retain their assets, 80.8 percent expressed their intention to do so.
In contrast, 72.8 percent of respondents who did not currently own any virtual asset stated that they had no intention of owning one in the future.
Out of the total 2,500 respondents, 62.9 percent believed that investing in virtual assets is a form of speculation. This belief was more prevalent among older age groups.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
