[Reporter's Notebook] Year-end Crypto Ecosystem Summary… WEMIX Delisting, GOPAX Acquisition Rumors, and Surge in Futures Trading

The year-end crypto ecosystem has been eventful. Unexpected events occurred in rapid succession, as if condensing an entire year into a short period. It was a holiday season filled with both excitement and fear. Although it was expected to stabilize over time, unpredictable issues continue to emerge. Watching the recent rapid developments, one realizes that the saying 'time heals all wounds' does not apply to the crypto ecosystem. There is a mountain of unfinished tasks to resolve as we cross into the new year.

First and foremost is the WEMIX delisting incident. Late last year, DAXA (Digital Asset eXchange Alliance) announced the delisting of WEMIX. The delisting of WEMIX, known as the leading 'P2E (Play to Earn)' coin, from KRW-market exchanges caused a massive shockwave. With domestic authorities still maintaining regulations on P2E, industry interest remains high.

The hottest topic recently is the rumor of Binance acquiring GOPAX. While GOPAX maintains a position of 'unknown,' the possibility of an acquisition continues to be raised within the industry. If Binance, the world's largest exchange, were to acquire GOPAX, it is expected to bring significant changes to the domestic market.

The expansion of KRW-market exchanges is also a key issue. Currently, the domestic market maintains a system of five major KRW-market exchanges. While trading with BTC is possible on other exchanges, those without KRW trading pairs struggle to generate substantial revenue. In this situation, it remains unclear when the 'crypto winter' will subside.

As a signal for market changes in the Year of the Guemao (Black Rabbit), 'futures trading' is worth noting. Futures funding support through 'melting airdrops' from foreign exchanges is springing up like mushrooms after rain. The impact that futures trading will have on the crypto ecosystem remains unknown.

There was no Santa Rally (a boom around Christmas) late last year. Despite the positive news of a two-year tax moratorium, the market did not react significantly. Consequently, voices are growing saying that it is difficult to remain optimistic as time goes by.

Actual data supports this. According to the 'South Korean Financial Consumer Report 2023' published late last year by the Hana Financial Research Institute, interest in virtual currency investment was driven by 'return expectations,' but the most common reason for stopping investments was 'declining returns.' This highlights a significant gap between expectations and reality. Among investors with experience, 71.1% reported a cumulative return of '-10% or more in losses,' which is 2.7 times higher than those who recorded '+10% or more in profits.'

The number of crypto investors has exceeded 6 million. This means that 1 in 10 citizens has invested in cryptocurrency. This scale is about twice the population of Busan. While pledges conscious of 'crypto votes' emerged during the election season last year, comprehensive institutional reforms still seem distant this year.

Although the holiday season was turbulent, we hope that the blockchain ecosystem will be filled with positive news this year.