Korean Retail X $ANIME thesis

*This thesis was inspired by insights from @Steve_4P during a conversation we had earlier today.

Everyone on CT knows Korea’s retail market is wild. Case in point: Over the past 24 hours, $ANIME spot trading volume on Upbit hit $167M, making up 50% of its total volume.

In most countries, anime fans and crypto traders rarely overlap. Converting anime enthusiasts into crypto investors is tough.

Korea is different.

Out of a 50M population, 10M Koreans consume webtoons (K-manga), manga, and anime daily, while 6.4M actively trade crypto. The overlap is especially strong among the 30–40 demographic—those who grew up with Dragon Ball and now drive Korea’s crypto trading volumes.

The numbers don’t lie:
- The Korean webtoon/manga market grew 23% YoY to hit $2B in 2022, with exports surpassing $100M for the first time.
- The anime market, while smaller at $700M in 2023, is expanding rapidly, with growth rates of 36% in 2021 and 22% in 2022.
- Korea’s anime OTT platform Laftel, often referred to as the “Korean Crunchyroll,” stands out as the only profitable player in a market where major local platforms like Tving, Wavve, and Watcha have each reported annual losses exceeding $150M

Korea’s thriving anime and manga sectors, paired with its highly active crypto trading population, create a perfect storm for @animecoin adoption. Where else can you find this level of overlap between anime fans and crypto traders?

Korea is uniquely positioned to lead the charge for $ANIME.