Bitcoin made up 32.7 percent of all cryptocurrency trading in South Korea in December, the lowest ratio among global exchanges, a local think tank said Sunday.

In a report released Sunday on the Korean cryptocurrency trade and its characteristics, the Korea Insurance Research Institute (KIRI) said the ratio of bitcoin was much lower than the 96.9 percent reached in Japan, 87.1 percent in Britain, 84 percent in Brazil or 83.7 percent in Russia.

All the figures were based on data collected on Dec. 17, KIRI said.

On the same day, South Korea reported 3.94 trillion won (US$3.61 billion) in cryptocurrency trade, as measured in value. It accounted for 29.8 percent of the world’s overall cryptocurrency transactions that day, the report said.

Starting Jan. 30, trade in cryptocurrencies is only allowed from real-name bank accounts in South Korea. The rules are intended to reduce the room for cryptocurrency deals to be exploited for illegal activities such as money laundering and tax evasion.

Source: Yonhapnews.co.kr