South Korea’s Potentially Taxable Crypto Activity Reaches $10.9 Billion, Ranking 11th Globally Ahead of 2027 Tax

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As South Korea prepares to begin taxing virtual assets in 2027, debate is continuing over tax standards and how to track transaction data. Against that backdrop, the country’s potentially taxable crypto activity is estimated to have reached about $10.9 billion in 2025.

Chainalysis said in its Crypto Tax Report released on Aug. 31 that South Korea’s potentially taxable on-chain activity in 2025 totaled $10.9 billion. That included $2 billion in income, $3.2 billion in trading gains and $5.6 billion in payments. The report analyzed on-chain data from six major blockchains: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Tron, BNB Smart Chain and Base. Among the countries studied, South Korea ranked 11th, behind the US at $112.6 billion, Germany at $24.1 billion and China at $21 billion.

The report said potentially taxable activity does not refer to actual tax assessments or projected tax revenue. Instead, it measures crypto-related gains, income and payment activity observed on blockchains without applying country-specific tax rates or individual exemptions. It also excludes trading within centralized exchanges and some activity that is difficult to verify directly on-chain, including staking and lending. As a result, the actual pool of potentially taxable activity could be larger than the report indicates.