South Korea Web3 Market Q1 2025 Report: From Capital Flow to Industry Ecosystem

In the first quarter of 2025, the South Korean Web3 market is ushering in an important turning point. This market, which was once seen as a "capital export" for global projects, is transforming into a structured, autonomous industrial ecosystem.

Main Findings

• South Korea is shifting from a speculation-driven market to an industry revitalization-oriented market.
• The regulatory easing allows corporate accounts to conduct cryptocurrency trading, marking a structural transformation.
• Global projects are actively establishing a long-term foundation in South Korea, focusing on the development of the developer community.

Market Status Analysis

Despite active participation and ample funding from retail investors, the institutional infrastructure development in South Korea's Web3 market has made limited progress. Regulatory efforts prioritize investor protection over ecosystem development, delaying broader industry growth.

The two main obstacles are:

1. Restrictions on the association of corporate accounts with cryptocurrency exchanges
2. High entry barriers for obtaining a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license

These institutional constraints, combined with investor activities that far exceed the maturity of the local ecosystem, have led some projects to primarily view South Korea as a customer acquisition channel.

Regulatory Progress: Opening Up of Corporate Account Transactions

The Financial Services Commission announced the "Roadmap for Enterprises to Participate in the Cryptocurrency Market" on February 13, 2025, which gradually lifts the corporate cryptocurrency trading restrictions that have been in place for seven years.

• Phase One (starting Q2 2025): Accounts will be opened to law enforcement agencies, non-profit organizations, and exchanges, limited to asset clearing purposes.
• Phase Two (starting in the second half of 2025): Allow trading by professional investors such as listed companies and registered investment companies.
• Phase Three (Medium to Long Term): Fully open the market to ordinary enterprises

This progress establishes a key entry point for enterprises' compliance operations, promoting the formal development of crypto-related business activities.

Strategic Layout of Global Projects

Following the US-China relationship, South Korea has become a core strategic market for global Web3 projects. Numerous international teams are actively recruiting Korean talent and establishing substantial cooperation, demonstrating a strategic shift from superficial marketing to building a sustainable, builder-led local ecosystem.

Some typical cases:

• Avalanche and the TON Foundation are directly supporting local teams in Korea to build the ecosystem.
• XRPL Korea (Ripple) and Superteam Korea (Solana) are hosting a large-scale hackathon to nurture the local builder community.

These developments mark the entry of South Korea's Web3 sector into a new momentum phase. Based on this, South Korean projects are expected to deliver substantial innovations to the global stage in the coming years.

Conclusion

In the first quarter of 2025, the South Korean Web3 market will undergo a key transformation - shifting from an investment-driven environment to a mature industrial ecosystem. Regulatory progress lays the foundation for structured market participation, while the ongoing ecological development efforts of global Web3 projects support the South Korean market in achieving long-term growth positioning.

Overall, these developments clearly demonstrate the evolution of South Korea's Web3 sector towards a sustainable industrial ecosystem. After years of regulatory constraints and structural inefficiencies, South Korea is entering a new phase characterized by policy synergy, institutional participation, and the initial signs of industrial-level growth.