Crypto Traders Ditch Memecoins for AI and Semiconductors

Crypto-native traders are shifting their capital out of memecoins and into AI and semiconductor equities, according to a recent trend in South Korea.

Trading volumes on Upbit, the country's dominant exchange, plummeted nearly 80% year-over-year to roughly $1.8B in daily volume by November 2025.

This decline is mirrored by Bithumb, the second-largest platform, which saw an equally brutal drop of about two-thirds of its trading activity over the same period.

The capital that left these exchanges seems to be heading towards equities, as the KOSPI index climbed more than 70% year-to-date through late 2025, propelled by semiconductor heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.

In the US, the SOX semiconductor index surged 170% over the prior year through mid-2026, while Bitcoin dropped approximately 40% during the same window.