South Korean virtual asset service providers (VASPs) earned over 3.3 trillion won from trading activities last year, according to a survey from a unit within the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

The aim of the survey, says the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU), is to gain a greater knowledge of the cryptocurrency market based on statistical data supplied by company owners.

As of the end of December 2021, a total of 29 VASPs had been approved, including 20 "coin-only" exchanges, five cryptocurrency wallets, and four South Korean won-based exchanges. The number has since risen to include two additional crypto wallets and two more coin-only exchanges, bringing the total number of operating legally in South Korea to 33.

Korean won-based exchanges dominated their coin-only counterparts in terms of market share with a 99.3 percent grip on domestic operating profits versus 0.7 percent.

During the second half of 2021, total transactions across 24 “virtual asset exchanges” amounted to .073 quadrillion won with an average daily transaction amount of 11.3 trillion won, or $9.4 billion, the survey reads.

In terms of crypto adoption, South Korea ranks 16th with 1.9 million people, or 3.79 percent of its 55.7 million-person population, holding some sort of cryptocurrency, according to data from payments provider Triple A.