Crypto Isn’t Just a Trend in South Korea—It’s Now a Retirement Strategy for the Over-50s

South Korea’s Crypto Curveball: White-Collar Workers Lead the Shift from FOMO to Strategy

Once driven by impulse, crypto investing in South Korea is now maturing into something more calculated.

A new report from the Hana Institute of Finance reveals that around one in four South Koreans aged 20 to 50 currently own virtual assets—and the demographic taking charge may come as a surprise.

Who’s Investing and Why It Matters

According to the study titled “2050 Generation’s Virtual Asset Investment Trends”, crypto ownership is no longer concentrated among early tech-savvy adopters.

Instead, the majority of investors are now men in their 30s and 40s, many working white-collar jobs.

Those in their 40s make up the largest slice at 31%, followed by people in their 30s (28%) and 50s (25%).

Despite having lower average liquid assets, these individuals allocate a larger portion of their finances to investment products.

Men aged 30-40 and white-collar workers dominate the demographic breakdown of Korean crypto investors by age, gender, and occupation. (Translated image / Source: Hana Institute of Finance)

Crypto alone accounts for about 14% of their total financial portfolios.

More surprisingly, nearly eight in ten respondents in their 50s said they use crypto as a savings vehicle, and more than half say it’s part of their retirement strategy.

From Chasing Trends to Building Wealth

What used to be a game of FOMO has turned into financial planning.

Investors now cite potential for growth, portfolio diversification, and structured savings as their main reasons for entering the crypto market.

As interest deepens, trading habits are also evolving.

The proportion of investors making routine crypto purchases has tripled from 10% to 34%, while mid-term trading activity has nearly doubled.

Short-term trading has taken a backseat.

Information channels are changing too.

Peer influence, once dominant in driving decisions, is giving way to data platforms and licensed exchanges.

Yoon Sun-young, research fellow at Hana Institute of Finance, said,

“Virtual assets are already playing a central role in investor portfolios and will likely become more mainstream.”

Crypto Meets Korea’s Banking Roadblocks

Despite rising adoption, many investors continue to face serious friction when managing digital assets—particularly due to the rigid “one-bank, one-exchange” policy.

Around 76% of survey participants described this system as inconvenient, as it prevents them from linking multiple bank accounts to their exchange of choice.

This policy appears to have a direct effect on user preferences.

Exchange selection is now driven more by which bank they’re linked to than platform performance.

Currently, 70% of respondents use Upbit, which is partnered with K bank.

According to CoinGecko, Upbit is the most traded cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea.

Seven in ten investors say they would favour their main bank for trading if this restriction were eased.

Public Trust Hinges on Institutional Support

While 70% of respondents expressed interest in expanding their crypto holdings, many pointed to the need for deeper involvement by traditional finance.

Forty-two percent said they would invest more if banks offered integrated crypto services.

Only 35% flagged stronger legal protection as the main priority.

Bitcoin remains the dominant digital asset, with six in ten investors holding BTC.

More experienced traders are beginning to diversify into altcoins and stablecoins, though NFTs and security tokens still attract little attention, with nine in ten investors sticking solely to coins.

Desperation or Strategy? A Deeper Look at South Korea’s Crypto Boom

Not everyone sees South Korea’s crypto surge as a natural market evolution.

Eli Ilha Yune, chief product officer at Anzaetek, recently suggested that financial desperation—not optimism—is behind the trend.

Speaking at German Blockchain Week, Yune pointed to high youth unemployment, currently at 6.6%, and rising economic pressure as key drivers.

“Many young Koreans are turning to crypto out of financial desperation, seeking quick profits rather than supporting Web3 ideals.”

Stagnant economic growth and inaccessible property markets are compelling younger generations to invest in higher-risk assets.

The Future May Not Wait for Regulation

As South Korea’s digital economy grows more entangled with traditional finance, questions loom about how institutions—and regulators—will keep up.

Recent political shifts, including president Lee Jae-myung’s crypto-friendly stance, hint at more open policies ahead, such as legalising spot crypto ETFs and supporting stablecoin issuers.

The Real Risk Isn’t Volatility—It’s Stagnation

If crypto is no longer just a tech experiment but a lifeline for a financially strained generation, the debate should no longer centre on whether digital assets are too volatile.

The greater risk is failing to adapt.

Traditional finance can either remain rigid or evolve—and the next chapter of South Korea’s economy may be written by those who dare to do the latter.