Dunamu and Bithumb, the operators of South Korea’s two largest cryptocurrency trading platforms, reported first-half 2026 revenue declines of about 49% as shrinking trading activity cut deeply into fee income and compressed profitability.
Dunamu, Upbit’s parent company, reported consolidated operating revenue of 408.1 billion won ($289 million) for the six months ended June 30, down 49.1% from 801.9 billion won a year earlier, according to its filing with South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service. Operating profit fell 79.7% to 111.5 billion won ($79 million), while net profit dropped 74.1% to 108.4 billion won ($77 million).
Bithumb reported a similar contraction. Its first-half operating revenue declined 48.7% year over year to 168.8 billion won ($120 million), from 329.2 billion won ($233 million), according to its financial disclosures. Operating profit fell 83.4% to 14.9 billion won ($11 million), compared with 90.1 billion won ($64 million) in the same period of 2025.
The sharper profit declines show how heavily the two businesses depend on transaction volume. Both platforms earn much of their income from trading fees, a model that can produce substantial margins during speculative market rallies but rapidly loses operating leverage when customers trade less frequently.
Bithumb’s results were more severe at the bottom line. The exchange posted a net loss of 108.7 billion won ($77 million), reversing a 55 billion won ($39 million) net profit recorded in the first half of the previous year. The company said platform trading fees generated nearly all of its operating revenue.
Korean trading volume nearly halved
Activity across South Korea’s regulated cryptocurrency platforms weakened sharply during the period. CoinGecko data showed that combined second-quarter spot trading volume on Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax reached $146.43 billion, down 49.5% from a year earlier.
The figures cover the five domestic platforms that hold full licenses under South Korea’s digital-asset regulatory framework. Upbit remains the market leader, giving Dunamu’s results particular weight as an indicator of local retail participation.
Lower volume came alongside a difficult first half for major crypto assets. Bitcoin declined by more than 30% over the period described in the companies’ earnings reports, moving from roughly $90,000 at the start of 2026 to around $60,000 by midyear. Ethereum fell from about $3,000 to $1,600 over the same span.
A falling market does not always reduce exchange revenue; volatile selloffs can sometimes generate heavy turnover. The first-half results instead point to a market with reduced liquidity and fewer speculative bursts strong enough to draw sustained retail activity back to Korean platforms.
South Korean traders also had a competing domestic market for risk appetite. The benchmark KOSPI more than doubled in the first half of 2026, supported by gains in Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and other semiconductor companies linked to demand for artificial-intelligence memory chips. That rally gave local participants a liquid, familiar alternative while cryptocurrency prices were under pressure.
Fee-driven businesses face a harsher earnings cycle
The gap between revenue and operating-profit declines at both companies illustrates the cost pressure created by lower trading activity. Dunamu’s revenue fell just under half, while its operating profit fell almost 80%. Bithumb’s operating profit dropped more than 83% on a comparable revenue decline.
Such results suggest that staffing, technology, compliance, marketing and other fixed operating expenses consumed a larger share of revenue as transaction fees receded. Neither company’s reported first-half figures establish whether the weaker activity will persist through the rest of the year, but the earnings leave both platforms with less room for aggressive customer-acquisition spending if volumes remain subdued.
Bithumb’s net loss also separates its performance from that of Upbit’s parent. The company remained profitable at the operating level, but reported a substantial loss after other items included in its net-income calculation. Its disclosure did not make the exchange’s fee business appear structurally unprofitable; rather, trading revenue was insufficient to prevent a loss at the final earnings line.
The pressure arrives while both firms are pursuing corporate transactions that could reshape South Korea’s digital-asset industry beyond day-to-day trading fees.
Upbit parent advances Naver Financial deal
Dunamu has been working on a share-swap transaction with Naver Financial that would make it a wholly owned subsidiary after completion. The combined entity has outlined plans to seek a public listing within five years, potentially on Nasdaq.
The proposed structure would connect Upbit’s large domestic cryptocurrency user base with Naver Financial’s fintech operations. A completed deal could give the group more avenues to develop payment, wallet, remittance and tokenized-finance services, although its immediate financial performance would remain tied to trading activity.
Hana Financial Group acquired a 6.55% stake in Dunamu for about 1 trillion won ($708 million), according to the supplied transaction details. The companies also signed a memorandum of understanding covering won-backed stablecoins, blockchain-based remittances and other digital-asset services.
Three Samsung affiliates separately acquired a combined 4% stake for roughly 613 billion won ($434 million). The investments place major Korean financial and industrial groups alongside one of the country’s most influential crypto operators even as the core exchange business faces a cyclical slowdown.
Bithumb targets 2028 IPO
Bithumb is preparing for an initial public offering targeted for 2028 after earlier timetables slipped. Its current roadmap calls for internal-control improvements during 2026 and a preliminary listing review submission in 2027.
The focus on governance and controls reflects the higher bar cryptocurrency businesses face when pursuing public-market listings in South Korea. A sustained recovery in revenue would strengthen the company’s case, while prolonged low volume could complicate efforts to present a stable earnings profile ahead of a listing review.
Kiwoom Securities entered discussions in June over a potential Bithumb stake purchase through a third-party allotment of newly issued shares. In May, Bithumb also signed a partnership with SSI Digital aimed at supporting expansion into Vietnam.
Those moves show that the major Korean platforms are continuing to build corporate and regional options despite the earnings setback. For now, the first-half reports place the immediate challenge elsewhere: restoring trading activity in a market where fee income, profits and local cryptocurrency turnover all fell by roughly half or more.
As Korean exchanges struggle with shrinking volumes, explore new opportunities on Toobit’s deep-liquidity markets for active traders.
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