South Korea’s five largest cryptocurrency exchanges have delisted hundreds of altcoins since 2022, sparking fresh concerns over investor protection and the adequacy of listing standards in one of Asia’s most active digital-asset markets.
Scale of Listings and Delistings
Data submitted to South Korea’s National Policy Committee by People Power Party lawmaker Park Sung-hoon shows that the country’s five major won-based exchanges—Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax—listed a combined 1,236 altcoins from 2022 through the end of July 2026. Over the same period, trading support was terminated for 430 altcoins, a figure that includes coins listed before 2022 but removed during the window.
Notably, 38 of these tokens were delisted less than a year after being listed, underscoring criticism that some exchanges may be prioritising rapid expansion of tradable assets over rigorous due diligence. Bithumb recorded the highest number of such short-lived listings with 16, followed by Coinone (11), Gopax (5), Korbit (4) and Upbit (2).
Exchange-by-Exchange Delisting Ratios
The delisting ratio—the share of newly listed altcoins later removed—varies sharply across platforms:
- Gopax: 67 delistings out of 106 new listings (63.2%)
- Coinone: 157 delistings out of 337 new listings (46.6%)
- Bithumb: 134 delistings out of 426 new listings (31.5%)
- Korbit: 30 delistings out of 148 new listings (20.3%)
- Upbit: 42 delistings out of 219 new listings (19.2%)
For context, on the KOSDAQ equity market over the same period, 532 companies newly listed while only 76 were delisted, highlighting the unusually high turnover in the crypto segment.
Reasons Cited for Delistings
According to regulatory and exchange disclosures, common grounds for ending trading support include:
- Lack of business sustainability or development progress
- Persistent low liquidity and trading activity
- Non-disclosure or inadequate disclosure of material information
- Security incidents, including hacking or technical vulnerabilities
- Legal or regulatory violations by issuers or project teams
- Concerns over the reliability and governance of the issuing entity
These factors often emerge only after a token has been listed and actively traded, leaving retail investors exposed to sudden price drops and liquidity crunches when delisting announcements are made.
Investor Losses and Market Conduct Concerns
Critics argue that the current pattern effectively passes risk from exchanges to investors. Once a delisting is decided, liquidity typically evaporates and prices fall sharply, forcing holders to sell at steep discounts or become stuck with illiquid assets.
Park Hyeon-joo, chairman of Mirae Asset Group, recently condemned the practice at a meeting with Korbit employees, stating that exchanges had “listed 200 to 300 altcoins and 80% to 90% of customers got soaked,” calling it “criminal conduct.”
Lawmaker Park Sung-hoon echoed these concerns, describing a dynamic in which exchanges promote rosy prospects to attract trading, then close support when problems arise, leaving investors as “the last runner in the bomb spin.” He urged financial regulators to scrutinise the entire lifecycle from listing to delisting and to set stricter, investor-protection-first standards rather than allowing volume-driven competition to dominate.
Fee Wars and Volume-Driven Incentives
The delisting debate coincides with aggressive fee-waiver promotions aimed at boosting trading volumes. Korbit, for example, waived trading fees on all coins for 133 days between October 2023 and February 2024. During that period, average daily turnover surged 1,520.8% to 70.66 billion won ($51 million), only to fall 57.4% to 30.1 billion won once the promotion ended.
Korbit and Coinone have rolled out similar fee-waiver events again in 2026, reigniting competition for market share. Observers warn that when frequent listings and delistings are combined with fee wars, exchanges may be incentivised to maximise short-term activity at the expense of long-term market quality and investor safeguards.
Regulatory Context and Outlook
South Korea has been tightening its virtual-asset regulatory framework, including the Virtual Asset User Protection Act and related Financial Services Commission (FSC) guidelines on listing governance, anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) compliance. Authorities have signalled that exchanges must conduct regular reviews of listed tokens and issue cautionary notices before delisting higher-risk assets.
The latest data intensifies pressure on regulators to enforce more transparent and consistent listing and delisting criteria, particularly for smaller exchanges with high delisting ratios. Market participants expect further guidance on pre-listing due diligence, ongoing disclosure obligations and clear timelines for delisting procedures to reduce abrupt market disruptions.
Implications for Investors and the Market
For retail investors, the findings underscore the need for heightened caution when trading lesser-known altcoins on Korean won markets. Key risk-mitigation steps include:
- Reviewing exchange listing policies and delisting histories before trading
- Avoiding overconcentration in low-liquidity or newly listed tokens
- Monitoring official exchange notices and regulatory updates
- Ensuring access to self-custody wallets to withdraw assets ahead of trading halts
For the broader market, the episode highlights a structural tension between rapid product expansion and investor protection in South Korea’s crypto ecosystem. As the sector matures, exchanges and regulators are likely to face growing demands to align listing practices with the same rigour expected in traditional capital markets.