South Korean Crypto Trading Soars as KOSPI Slides

South Korea is one of the world’s most retail-driven crypto markets, leaving won-based exchanges heavily dependent on trading fees. The KOSPI’s surge, fueled by semiconductor and AI shares including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, has given speculative investors a compelling alternative to tokens. Tiger Research said the divergence does not necessarily mean Koreans have abandoned crypto; rather, capital is rotating toward equities, pressuring liquidity and smaller platforms as financial institutions position around stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets and exchange stakes.

Cointelegraph’s July 22, 2026 analysis of CoinGecko data compared seven-day periods in July 2025 and July 2026 across Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax. Combined average daily volume sank 89% to $305 million from $2.82 billion, while the simple unweighted average decline was about 77%. Over the 12 months through July 22, the KOSPI climbed 114.44%. ZDNet Korea separately reported volume was down 88% year-on-year on July 20; Korbit raised about 1.6 billion won ($1 million) by selling 15 Bitcoin and 60 Ether.

Bitcoin's price has long served as a bellwether for the global digital-asset market. Beginning July 11, 2026, South Korea's KOSPI tumbled nearly 10% amid geopolitical tensions and volatility in U.S. stocks, with technology shares including Samsung falling sharply. As the traditional equity market swung wildly, South Korean retail investors withdrew funds from stocks and returned to cryptocurrencies to avoid margin-call risks, driving a significant and closely watched rotation in capital.

After an earlier decline, Bitcoin stabilized near $62,600 on July 14, 2026. At the same time, an influx of South Korean safe-haven funds into cryptocurrencies sent one-day trading volume on Upbit, the country's largest exchange, surging nearly 14-fold to $4.2 billion on July 14. The rush not only eased downward pressure on the crypto market but also highlighted the influence of South Korean retail investors in global digital assets.

Data compiled by the Bank of Korea from the country's five largest exchanges — Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit, Coinone and Gopax — show that the crypto market is being squeezed by falling token prices and the stock market's growing appeal. The trend reflects not only lower asset valuations but also a marked shift in retail investors' risk appetite and allocation toward equities.

As of the end of February 2026, crypto holdings were valued at 60.6 trillion won (about $41.4 billion), half the 121.8 trillion won (about $83.3 billion) recorded at the end of January 2025. Average daily trading volume fell to 4.5 trillion won from 17.1 trillion won at the end of December 2024, while won deposits declined to 7.8 trillion won. Stablecoin holdings still totaled 607.1 billion won.

South Korean retail investors participate heavily in cryptocurrency markets, with trading concentrated in altcoins that are more volatile than Bitcoin and Ethereum. Market data provider Kaiko said this trading profile, combined with the country’s mature domestic exchange ecosystem, makes South Korea an important testing ground for stablecoin services and digital-asset applications.

Kaiko’s latest data shows South Korea accounts for about 30% of global cryptocurrency trading volume, with altcoins representing as much as 85% of the country’s total. Stablecoin issuer Circle has signed a memorandum of understanding with Dunamu, the parent company of Upbit, to strengthen the local digital-asset ecosystem. Reports did not disclose the signing date, investment amount or a formal launch timetable.