South Korea’s KOSPI index soared to document peaks in early November, whereas crypto buying and selling quantity dropped over 80%.
This sharp divergence has upset crypto buyers as capital flows decisively towards conventional equities.
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Report Fairness Rally and Unprecedented Crypto Decline
The Korean Composite Inventory Value Index (KOSPI), South Korea’s major inventory market index, reached its all-time excessive as crypto trade volumes fell to their lowest since late 2023. KOSPI represents the efficiency of all frequent shares traded on the Korea Change (KRX).
In response to an area media report on November 4, KOSPI’s each day buying and selling quantity surged to KRW 34.04 trillion, marking a 208% enhance from KRW 11.05 trillion on January 2, 2025, the primary buying and selling day of the 12 months.
Throughout the identical interval, Korea’s 5 main crypto exchanges noticed their each day buying and selling quantity lower to KRW 5.57 trillion. These 5 are KRW-based exchanges, reminiscent of Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax. This represents a forty five% plunge from January, when buying and selling volumes comfortably exceeded KRW 10 trillion.
CryptoQuant’s knowledge exhibits that buying and selling on the 5 exchanges collapsed to near-zero ranges. This compares to early-2025 highs above 240 billion models.
CryptoQuant stacked bar chart exhibiting Korean crypto trade quantity from December 2023 to November 2025, with Upbit and Bithumb dominating and a pointy decline to document lows in November 2025. Supply: CryptoQuant (through BeInCrypto)
The KOSPI jumped 71.8% year-to-date, making it the world’s top-performing main inventory index. This surge has been pushed by continued momentum in home shares, significantly Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, powered by the brand new administration and investor enthusiasm for synthetic intelligence.
Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto trade, noticed its 24-hour buying and selling quantity drop 12.8% to $2.02 billion as of October 31, 2025. The sharp decline alerts a waning urge for food amongst buyers for digital asset hypothesis.
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“Where did all the Korean retail investors in the crypto circle go? Answer: To the stock market next door,” analyst AB Kuai Dong noticed.
President Lee Jae-myung’s Market-Pleasant Insurance policies Drive Rally
South Korea’s inventory market started its ascent in Might this 12 months through the Presidential election marketing campaign. The election was held after the lifting of martial regulation, so the opposition chief Lee Jae-Myung’s victory was broadly anticipated.
Lee is a lawyer however used to spend money on the inventory market. He has lengthy proven curiosity in inventory market stimulus. His market-friendly rhetoric through the marketing campaign helped gasoline investor optimism, which has now translated into the KOSPI’s record-breaking efficiency.
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AI semiconductor suppliers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have led the surge. Samsung shares rose roughly 95% year-to-date, whereas SK Hynix gained a formidable 242%, each considerably outperforming the broader market.
Final week, the APEC summit was held in Gyeongju, Korea, and world leaders, together with Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, attended it. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang additionally visited Korea for the CEO Summit. He made headlines by having fun with beer and rooster with the Samsung and Hyundai chairpersons.
Crypto Market Feels Sidelined Amid Inventory Increase
Korea is legendary for its excessive crypto buying and selling volumes, and listings on Upbit and Bithumb are nonetheless thought of main catalysts for value will increase within the world crypto market. Nevertheless, as funds rush into the surging inventory market, Korea’s home crypto market feels considerably marginalized.
The latest weak spot in crypto markets isn’t unrelated to this development. When it comes to returns, the fact is that the inventory market is way outpacing Bitcoin, which rose 11% YTD.
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Crypto market contributors have expressed frustration. CryptoQuant CEO Ki Younger Ju concurred with an analyst who steered the president increase equities to divert hypothesis from actual property.
Future Outlook for Each Markets
South Korean political speculators say President Lee has proven appreciable curiosity within the crypto market. Over the past presidential election, he campaigned on insurance policies together with Bitcoin spot ETF approval and stablecoin adoption, and even defined stablecoins throughout TV debates.
A ruling celebration politician lately informed a BeInCrypto reporter, “In the future, President Lee will be remembered as someone who lifted both the stock and crypto markets—a model similar to today’s Trump.”
For now, South Korea’s markets present a uncommon break up between conventional and digital property. Whether or not this marks a short lived part or a extra profound shift in investor habits stays to be seen as political and financial dynamics proceed to evolve. On Tuesday, the market underwent a -2.7% correction, but crypto market additionally went by means of a downturn.
