Most Influential: Sirgoo Lee

Lee shaped the speech that defines Korea’s crypto market, but adjacent aft his exit this year, the country’s hyperactive retail motor volition support moving.

Dec 11, 2025, 3:00 p.m.

South Korea’s crypto marketplace became 1 of the busiest trading arenas successful the satellite successful 2025, with enthusiastic retail investors powering planetary surges successful XRP, Dogecoin, and galore of the memecoins that dominated this cycle.

At the halfway of that liquidity stood Upbit, the speech that routinely captured much than 80% of the country’s onshore measurement and astatine times moved worldwide prices erstwhile a coin listed oregon spiked. That marketplace was shaped by 1 enforcement much than immoderate other: Sirgoo Lee.

When helium announced successful 2025 that helium would step down arsenic CEO, it raised an antithetic question for the crypto industry, successful South Korea and beyond. Could the world’s astir hyperactive retail crypto marketplace run the aforesaid mode without the person who defined its operation and hazard culture, oregon would his exit displacement liquidity balances successful a state that had go important to planetary terms formation?

Part of Lee’s interaction came from a management style that stood retired successful a notoriously hierarchical firm environment. Inside Dunamu, the genitor institution of Upbit, helium was known for a horizontal attack that encouraged unfastened connection and pushed work downward — a absorption benignant communal successful Western startups but antithetic successful conservative, strict Korea.

At Upbit, that attack shaped however the institution handled idiosyncratic risk. Under his leadership, the speech built systems that recovered much than 94% of misdirected deposits, established an Investor Protection Center that offers acquisition and ineligible support, and expanded its compliance and information programs done manufacture certifications.

In a marketplace wherever risk-embracing 'degenerate' trading is simply a constituent of idiosyncratic pride, these measures helped Upbit separate itself arsenic the venue South Korean investors considered safest.

Upbit’s dominance did not slice arsenic Lee prepared to exit. Its listings inactive thrust important measurement to flavor-of-the-day memecoins, and postulation continues to grow.

Korea’s retail traders volition not dilatory down, and, acknowledgment to Lee, Upbit remains the venue that amplifies their instincts.

Most Influential: The Social Media Traders

Crypto Twitter’s societal media traders turned their X dashboards into nationalist PnL world shows successful 2025, sending billions successful measurement done memecoins and perp DEXs successful existent time.