KOSPI Plunge Spurs South Korea Crypto Trading Surge
South Korean cryptocurrency trading volumes have surged in response to the country's stock market decline. The KOSPI index fell by nearly 18% this week, leading to a spike in crypto trading on local exchanges.
Data from Upbit, South Korea's largest exchange, shows that trading volume for the Korean won (KRW) against Tether (USDT) increased by 600% between July 25 and July 29. On July 29, the volume neared 200 billion KRW (140 million USDT), up from just 20 million USDT on July 25.
Analysts suggest that investors may be seeking to capitalize on volatility by buying stock-linked products overseas. Cho Yoon-sung, a senior researcher at Tiger Research, noted that there is a possibility of demand increasing for moving funds to overseas exchanges or personal wallets to trade perpetual stock futures.
BTC/USDT trading volumes also remain high, with Bitwise highlighting Bitcoin's resilience in the face of macro headwinds. The firm attributed 'remarkable outperformance' to Bitcoin compared to US mega-cap stocks such as SpaceX (SPCX) and the Magnificent 7.