Bithumb, one of the nation’s top three cryptocurrency exchanges, has been named the best exchange brand here in terms of user engagement, according to a survey by the Korea Reputation Center on Jan. 29.

The survey, the first of its kind, found Bithumb was the most cited exchange brand among online users here. Based on big data analysis, the exchange earned the highest 11.5 million points in four rating categories, almost double that of its key rivals — Upbit with 6.28 million points and CoinOne with 5.1 million points.

“Our efforts for upgrading customer service has been recognized,” a Bithumb official said. “We will ramp up efforts to reduce inconveniences amid a traffic surge.”

The center publishes its own brand reputation surveys on Korean firms. It is the first time it has conducted a survey on crypto exchanges. About 36.9 million brand data of 25 exchanges were analyzed between Dec. 24 and Jan. 25. The latest survey didn’t reflect financial data like transactions and user numbers.

The top two Bithumb and Upbit compete neck-and-neck to become the nation’s largest exchange in terms of transactions. As of 3 p.m. on the day, Kakao-backed Upbit was the largest Bitcoin trader in Korea and the second-largest globally after China’s Binance.

Binance made up 14.22 percent of global Bitcoin trading, followed by Upbit with 13.06 percent and Bithumb with 10.53 percent.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)