KOSPI Plunge Spikes South Korean Crypto Trading Volumes
The South Korean stock market has plummeted by nearly 18% this week, and in response, cryptocurrency trading volumes have surged. According to data from Upbit, the largest South Korean exchange, trading volume accelerated between the Korean won and Tether (USDT) on July 29, reaching 200 billion won (140 million USDT), up from just 20 million USDT on July 25, a 600% increase.
The KOSPI index fell due to a sell-off in chip-maker stocks, prompting investors to seek protection or take advantage of the decline. Analysis suggests that capital could have flowed out of stocks to crypto, while others targeted derivatives of Korean equities via overseas crypto exchanges.
Cho Yoon-sung, a senior researcher at Tiger Research, stated: 'There is a possibility that demand increased for moving funds to overseas exchanges or personal wallets to trade perpetual stock futures.'
,Crypto trading remains a popular activity in South Korea, particularly among younger traders who are fond of risk. Traders' tendency to make leveraged bets is an overarching feature of both crypto markets and this year's AI retail boom.
Andre Dragosch, European head of research at Bitwise, noted Bitcoin's unexpected resilience: 'Bitcoin is essentially flat since semis peaked in late June.'
,This trend is not unique, as the impact of KOSPI volatility on crypto trading volumes was evident before this week's rout. On July 14, Upbit saw a conspicuous volume surge after the index plunged 10% in a single day.