- South Korean crypto trading volumes surged 600% as the KOSPI stock index dropped nearly 18% this week.
- Investors may be shifting funds to overseas exchanges to trade derivatives of Korean equities, according to analyst Cho Yoon-sung.
- Bitwise analysts highlight Bitcoin‘s resilience relative to US mega-cap stocks, suggesting it may signal future monetary-policy easing.
South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges saw trading volumes spike 600% this week as the country’s benchmark KOSPI index plunged nearly 18%, driven by a sell-off in chip-maker stocks. Data from the largest exchange, Upbit, shows trading volume between the Korean won and Tether (USDT) neared 200 billion won ($140 million) on July 29, up from just $20 million on July 25.
Consequently, capital may have flowed out of stocks into crypto, according to analysis cited by local media outlet Seoul Economic Daily. “There is a possibility that demand increased for moving funds to overseas exchanges or personal wallets to trade perpetual stock futures,” said Cho Yoon-sung, a senior researcher at Tiger Research.
Meanwhile, Bitwise European head of research Andre Dragosch noted Bitcoin’s lack of contagion from the semiconductor meltdown, stating, “Bitcoin is essentially flat since semis peaked in late June.” Bitwise earlier attributed “remarkable outperformance” to Bitcoin compared to US mega-cap stocks, arguing the cryptocurrency may be giving early indications of future monetary-policy easing by central banks despite rising inflation.
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