South Korea’s Crypto Boom Outpaces Stock Market
Cryptocurrency trading in South Korea reached an astonishing $18 billion in one day on December 2, surpassing the stock market trading volume by 22%, according to a report by 10x Research. This unprecedented surge underlines the rising popularity of digital assets, driven to a great extent by retail investors’ fondness for altcoins.
Retail Investors Drive Altcoin Activity
Retail traders were heavily long altcoins, led by XRP. XRP printed $6.3 billion in volume, surged to a yearly high of $2.80, and climbed to the third-biggest cryptocurrency in the world by 24-hour global trading volume at $42.65 billion. DOGE was the second most traded altcoin with $1.6 billion in volume, while XLM came in third with $1.3 billion. HBAR and ENS rounded out the top five most active altcoins, sealing altcoins’ dominance.
Markus Thielen, chief executive of 10x Research, said altcoin trade volumes have kept on outpacing Bitcoin. “The action is clearly in the altcoin market,” he said. CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season Index supported this view, with altcoins accounting for 83% of market activity – a large deviation from the norm and indicative of a significant shift in investor focus.
Stock Market Sees Foreign Inflows
While overshadowed by cryptocurrency trading, the stock market in South Korea also posted strong activity. On December 2, foreign investors pumped $385 million into the Kospi Index, the biggest inflow in three months. That pushed the Kospi Index up 1.9% after two days of losses.
According to Seo Sang-young, a strategist at Mirae Asset Securities, it gained on the back of an improving set of U.S. economic indicators, including the ISM manufacturing new orders gauge entering expansion territory for the first time in eight months. Such development has again strengthened investors’ confidence in the export-driven economy of South Korea, which is closely associated with global market trends.
Implications for South Korea’s Financial Landscape
The divergence in trading trends points to a transforming phase in South Korea’s financial markets, where the resilience of the stock market is concurrent with the very rapid growth in cryptocurrency trading, dominated by altcoins, signaling a turn in investor preference. And analysts say digital assets are entering mainstream finance-as they become increasingly accessible-and can change the economics of South Korea.
As the alternative coin market is still enticing investors, commentators predict sustained growth in cryptocurrency trading, fostering innovation and, finally, regulatory progress.
