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South Korea's cryptocurrency trading volume has shrunk to one-tenth of the KOSPI stock index.

48 minutes ago

May 27 – Domestic cryptocurrency trading volume in South Korea has dropped to roughly one-tenth that of the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), according to South Korean outlet Digital Asset. The gap has widened sharply, driven primarily by a cryptocurrency market crash in October 2025 and the KOSPI’s ongoing string of record highs. Digital Asset analyzed trading activity across South Korea’s five major won-based crypto exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, Gopax) and the KOSPI. As of May 26, the local won-denominated crypto market accounted for just 8% of KOSPI volume—down from a peak of 323% in December 2024. That 2024 crypto surge followed Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential election win and his pledge to make the U.S. the “digital asset capital,” pushing crypto trading to eclipse stock market volume. The crypto market’s slump began in the second half of 2025. By August that year, the ratio was nearly even at 99%. But October brought a sharp crypto crash tied to large-scale futures liquidations, while the KOSPI kept hitting fresh highs, fueled by a semiconductor boom and government policies to boost the stock market. Between August 2025 and May 2026, South Korea’s won-crypto volume fell 71%, while KOSPI volume jumped 243%. South Korea’s crypto market also lags global trends. The Bitcoin “Kimchi Premium” metric— which tracks price differences between local and overseas Bitcoin—has stayed consistently negative. Per CryptoQuant data, the indicator flipped negative in March, briefly turned positive in April, and then shifted negative again. A negative Kimchi Premium means Bitcoin is cheaper in South Korea than abroad, signaling weak buying demand domestically.
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