South Korea's AI Mania Spills Into Crypto, With Worldcoin as Top Pick

South Korean retail traders have carried their AI trade into crypto, Chainalysis data show. AI tokens became the top theme in won trading by June, with Worldcoin (WLD) drawing $7.41 billion in trading volume over the year.

The demand has helped South Korea’s crypto economy grow 12.3% to $449.1 billion, even as East Asia’s contracted modestly. Retail traders drove nearly all of that growth, while Korean banks and institutions remain largely in pilot mode.

AI Crypto Assets Take a 19.5 Times Bigger Share of Won Trading Than Yen

According to the report, AI tokens’ share of won trading was 19.5 times their share of yen trading. That share also dwarfed AI tokens’ slice of euro, British pound, and Brazilian real trading.

Chainalysis tied the AI trade to Korean retail traders’ taste for high-risk, high-reward bets. On the stock market, that trade has been led by SK Hynix.

Korean AI token volumes climbed alongside the chipmaker’s shares over the same stretch, the report noted.

“By June of 2026, AI cryptocurrencies (digital assets of AI-focused projects or associated with AI infrastructure) were the single most popular thematically-defined investment category as measured by a share of won-denominated trading volume, beating out payment tokens like XRP,” the report read.

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Worldcoin Leads a Crowded Field of South Korea’s AI Bets

The report names several AI tokens that drew heavy Korean trading volume over the year to June. Newcomer Sahara AI (SAHARA) contributed $3.2 billion, and Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) added $2.7 billion.

Bio Protocol (BIO) accounted for $2 billion, while NEAR Protocol (NEAR) drew $1.7 billion. Worldcoin topped the list with $7.41 billion, more than double SAHARA’s total.

The sector also outran the broader market in September. Grayscale says AI crypto assets rose 54% that month, against 24% for the wider market. WLD remained among the sector’s leaders, Grayscale added.

Over the past month, WLD has climbed 44.28% to $0.57155, BeInCrypto Markets data show. It slipped 1.74% in the past day.

Last week, WLD added 15% while most crypto assets slipped, BeInCrypto reported. Santiment did not tie that move to a specific catalyst. Even after the run, WLD trades about 95% below its $11.74 record from March 2024.

Slower Unlocks Meet Korea’s 2027 Crypto Tax

Grayscale values the AI crypto sector at about $15 billion, the smallest of its six crypto sectors. From that small base, head of research Zach Pandl sees room for major winners within five years.

That outlook, combined with continued Korean demand, could act as a tailwind for WLD. The supply side has also eased. World said in April that daily WLD unlocks would fall 43% from July 24 to about 2.9 million tokens. 

However, a new tax could test the demand side. South Korea plans a 22% tax on crypto gains from January 2027, though lawmakers have delayed it before.

Korean traders also rotate quickly. Chainalysis found that 2025’s leading AI tokens, including VIRTUAL and KAITO, have already given way to WLD and SAHARA.

Both the tax decision and that rotation could shape whether Korean traders keep WLD at the top of their AI token list.

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