- The Korea Exchange suspended program sell orders for five minutes after KOSPI 200 futures fell 5.08%, triggering the first sell-side sidecar since Aug. 19.
- Tom Lee warned that margin liquidations at Korean brokerages could force investors to sell crypto to raise cash.
- A CryptoQuant contributor flagged Ethereum‘s Binance liquidity gauge at a near seven-month low.
- Ether traded at $2,520, down more than 1% in 24 hours.
On Tuesday, the Korea Exchange halted program sell orders for five minutes after KOSPI 200 futures fell 5.08% to 955.02, triggering the first sell-side sidecar since August 19.
Tom Lee, chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies and co-founder of Fundstrat, warned on X that the Korean equity rout could spill into crypto. He said margin liquidations at Korean brokerages could force investors to sell other assets, including cryptocurrency.
Lee didn’t state Korean investors had sold Ether or provide figures for forced selling. The KOSPI was down 4.06% at 6,125.17, according to a Seoul Economic Daily report.
AI spending warnings from industry leaders and competition from China‘s CXMT triggered a global chip rout, with Samsung and SK Hynix dragging the Korean market lower. The Direxion Daily South Korea Bull 3X Shares (KORU ETF) cracked 10% in U.S. premarket trade.
Ethereum was already under pressure before the KOSPI plunge, as the ETH Binance Liquidity Shock Z-Score hit around -1.00, its lowest in nearly seven months, according to CryptoQuant contributor Arab Chain. The gauge measures how much Ethereum liquidity flows on Binance deviate from their one-year norm.
A negative reading signals below-average activity but doesn’t show selling pressure, the analyst warned, as Ether reserves on Binance fell and coins moved off exchanges. Ether traded at $2,520, down over 1% in 24 hours.
ETH has fallen more than 15% this year and lost over 40% in the last 12 months.
✅ Follow BITNEWSBOT on Telegram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X.com, and Google News for instant updates.
