Coinone dethrones Upbit and Bithumb in stablecoin trading

South Korea's stablecoin trading market, long dominated by Upbit and Bithumb, has reshuffled into a three-way race. Coinone led all domestic exchanges in June with an average daily stablecoin trading volume of 84.58 billion won ($58.6 million), capturing a 34.8 percent market share.

According to Yonhap, Coinone recorded the highest average daily stablecoin trading volume in June at 84.58 billion won, giving it a 34.8 percent share of the market. Bithumb came in second at 75.57 billion won, or 31.1 percent, followed by Upbit at 73.03 billion won, or 30.1 percent.

The combined stablecoin trading volume of the three exchanges — 233.18 billion won — accounted for 96 percent of the total across all five won-denominated exchanges, which logged 242.87 billion won. Korbit trailed with 9.54 billion won, or 3.9 percent, while Gopax was limited to 143.27 million won, or 0.06 percent.

Upbit and Bithumb had long held a duopoly over the domestic stablecoin trading market. In January last year, Upbit commanded a 53.5 percent share and Bithumb held 42.5 percent based on average daily trading volume. Coinone's share at the time stood at just 1.8 percent.

The shift began in March last year, when Coinone's share climbed past 10 percent to reach 11.5 percent. By December of that year, it had surged to 30.5 percent, overtaking Upbit's 29.7 percent in a surprise reversal.

Coinone's rapid rise appears to stem from its decision in October last year to waive trading fees on the dollar stablecoin USD Coin (USDC), which drew a surge in demand.

Coinone has maintained its zero-fee policy to this day, even as rival exchanges continue to charge between 0.04 and 0.2 percent in trading fees.

Upbit, quickly pushed to third place, has since launched a limited-time promotion offering free stablecoin trading in a bid to close the gap.

However, when measured by total trading volume across all virtual assets, Upbit and Bithumb still hold a commanding lead.

According to virtual asset data provider CoinGecko, Upbit and Bithumb together accounted for more than 90 percent of average daily trading volume in June — 60 percent and 32 percent, respectively — far ahead of Coinone at 6.2 percent, Korbit at 1.7 percent and Gopax at 0.1 percent.

Stablecoins are most commonly traded for transfer to overseas exchanges or personal wallets for use in derivatives trading. There is also demand from investors seeking dollar exposure for currency arbitrage gains.