By Liam, Deep tide TechFlow
Koreans must be on the list if they want to be the world's favorite。
Korea, which has been one of the world’s most zealous countries of encrypted currency, has even invented the term “Kimchi Premium”, where Korean traders once bought bitcoin 10 per cent more expensive than the world。
By 2025, the wind had changed。
The largest encrypted trading platform in Korea, Upbit, is down 80 per cent from the same period last year, bitcoin trades are far less active than in previous years; instead, the South Korean stock market is burning, with the KOSPI index rising by 70 per cent during the year, continuing to record a record high。
At the Kakao Talk, Naver Forum, the diaspora, which once discussed the money, is now talking about the "AI semiconductor concept unit"。
Even the Koreans don't give a shit。
The Koreans don't fire the money
Over the past few years, South Korea has been a veritable place for soldiers in the global encryption market。
For the exchange and project parties, there are high-value, high-quality customers, which is more common, and Koreans are often the masters of Yamashita。
In the media and video, there are many stories of Koreans who spend all night making money, making money and making money。
So, when someone tells you that this "country of coins" is not much of a handout anymore, you might find it ridiculous。
But data doesn't lie。
The largest Korean exchange, Upbit, has collapsed in its trade volume。
In November 2025, the average daily transaction volume of Upbit was only US$ 17.88 billion, compared to US$ 9 billion in December 2024, which fell by 80 per cent and has declined for four consecutive months。
Upbit ' s history peaked on December 3rd, 2024, when Korean martial law imposed a trade volume of $274.5 billion, 10 times the usual。
But the madness of that night was the culmination, and the market then cooled quickly, cutting off the cliffs。
More notably, the volatility of transactions is also decreasing significantly。
During the feverish period at the end of 2024, daily trade volumes often fluctuated sharply between $5 and $27 billion; after 2025, trade volumes remained stable for most of the time within the $2 to $4 billion zone, with volatility narrowing sharply。
The fate of the second largest South Korean exchange, Bithumb, is similar。
At the end of the year (December), the average daily turnover of Bithumb was approximately $2.45 billion, leaving only around $890 million in November 2025, an overall decline of approximately 69 per cent and a liquidity loss of nearly two thirds。
The two largest local exchanges in South Korea (Upbit and Bitumb) were caught in a "quantitative recession" during the same cycle, which meant not only the cooling of transactions, but also the general retreat of the Korean diaspora。
This is confirmed by search data, with the latest Bitcoin search index of 44 in the Korean Google search trend, which is 66 per cent lower than the peak of 100 at the end of 2024。
Han's crazy cow
So, where's the Korean money? The answer is the stock market。
This year's Korean stock market is known as the rebirth of Bitcoin Bulls in 2017, the epic mad cow。
KOREA'S BENCHMARK KOSPI SHARES MEAN THAT IN THE PAST OCTOBER, 17 DOWNBOARDS HIT RECORD HIGH, BREAKING 4200 POINTS, ONLY IN OCTOBER, CUMULATIVELY RISING BY NEARLY 21 PER CENT, CREATING THE BEST SINGLE MONTH IN 2001。
SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, THE KOSPI INDEX HAS ACCUMULATED A SURGE OF MORE THAN 72 PER CENT, LEADING TO LARGE ASSET CLASSES。
KOSPI HAS AN AVERAGE TURNOVER OF 16.6 TRILLION WON (APPROXIMATELY $11.5 BILLION) PER DAY, A MAXIMUM OF 18.9 TRILLION WON PER DAY, A 44 PER CENT INCREASE IN THE RING COMPARED TO SEPTEMBER, AND A COUPON OF THE APPP ONCE-IN-TIME CARDON。
It's just an index. It's more crazy。
THREE STARS ELECTRONICS ROSE 100 PER CENT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR AND NOW; THE STOCK PRICE OF THE STORE LEADER, SK HERCULES, ROSE BY 70 PER CENT THIS QUARTER, AND HAS SOARED BY 240 PER CENT SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR. TOGETHER, BOTH COMPANIES HAVE MADE DEALS OF 4.59 TRILLION WON A DAY, OR 28 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL MARKET。
THE MARKET IS SO HOT THAT EVEN THE EXCHANGE CAN'T WATCH IT, AND THE KOREAN EXCHANGE HAS ANNOUNCED ON A SUNDAY NIGHT THAT IT HAS ISSUED AN "INVESTMENT NOTICE" NOTICE FOR SK HERCULES STOCKS BECAUSE THE UNIT IS GROWING TOO FAST, WHICH ALSO MAKES SK HERCULES STOCK PRICE JUMP TUESDAY。
AI BECAME "THE FAITH OF ALL."
Once upon a time, the Korean stock market was a dead end, barely rising for more than a decade, and the Korean local media was often sung to the effect that there was no way out for the Korean stock market, which had caused many Korean investors to lose money or invest in American stock
The South Korean stock market has soared, as if it were "scrambling" but the logic behind it is so clear:
GLOBAL AI + POLICY PUSH + DOMESTIC RESOURCE FLOWS。
EVERYONE KNOWS THAT THIS TURN OF FIRE COMES FROM AI。
ChatGPT ignited the second season of the global technology bubble, and South Korea sits in the “ammunition depot” of the industrial chain。
KOREA IS THE LEADING GLOBAL REPOSITORY OF CHIPS, AND SK HERCULES AND SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS ALMOST MONOPOLIZE THE HIGH BANDWIDTH MEMORY (HBM) MARKET, AND HBM IS THE MOST CRITICAL RAW MATERIAL FOR TRAINING AI LARGE MODELS。
THIS MEANS THAT EVERY TIME THE GPUS OF YIN WEIDA AND AMD GROW, THE PROFIT CURVE OF KOREAN FIRMS GOES UP IN PARALLEL。
AT THE END OF OCTOBER, THE SK HERCULES RELEASED A FINANCIAL REPORT THAT RAISED $17.1 BILLION IN THREE QUARTERS, WITH AN OPERATING PROFIT OF $8 BILLION, AN INCREASE OF 62 PER CENT OVER THE SAME PERIOD, ALL OF WHICH IS AT A RECORD HIGH。
MORE CRUCIALLY, SK HERCULES HAS LOCKED ALL DRAM AND NAND CAPACITY IN 2026 INTO DEMAND。
So the Koreans found:
AI IS AN AMERICAN NARRATIVE, BUT THE MONEY IS MADE IN KOREA。
IF YOUNG WAIDA IS THE SOUL OF AMERICA, THE KOREAN DIASPORA FINDS ITS FAITH ON THE SK HERCULES。
FROM THE CIRCLE TO THE STOCK MARKET, THEY'RE STILL CHASING THE "FREAKING DREAM" BUT BUYING A THREE-STAR OR A SK AND PUTTING ON A "PATRIOTIC" CROWN。
In addition, one key context should not be overlooked: the Korean Government was working hard to save the stock market。
For a long time, Korean stocks have been known as "Korea Discount"。
Family financier monopoly, poor corporate governance, low shareholder returns & shellip; leading to a widespread underestimation of Korean enterprises, even three-star electronics, and long-term underestimation of global equivalents, with the rise of SK Hercules by 240 per cent and PE still at 14。
After the government came to power, Yoon Seong-hwan launched a reform program called the Korean version of the shareholder value revolution:
(b) Promoting the promotion and repurchase of shares in enterprises
(b) Countering the cross-holding of financiers
(b) Reducing taxes on capital gains, encouraging pension and diaspora distribution。
The reform was called the "National Action to Get Korea Out of the Garage" by the media。
As a result, funds from abroad began to flow back and local institutions and diasporas "go home and buy shares"。
Another reality, of course, is that there's no place for money。
The South Korean building market cooled during the high interest rate cycle, with high United States stock valuations, while the currency ring was only passive。
Investors need a new gambling table, and the stock market just provides a legal landing。
According to Korean bank data, in the first half of this year, the number of new securities accounts opened by indigenous bulk accounts exceeded 5 million, and the number of downloads by voucher dealers, App, increased sharply。
THIS WAVE OF CAPITAL FLOWS TO KOSPI FASTER THAN THE 2021 DIASPORA BURST INTO THE CIRCLE。
At the same time, Korean pension and insurance funds are being secured by the indigenous technology unit。
From the state to the institutions to the diaspora, everyone is rushing into the stock market, and you can even say that this is a "national cattle town." I don't know
Speculation never sleeps
This time, the Korean stock market has at least a bit of a back-up on its performance, unlike the "emotional" pull。
Finally, one must admit:
The stock market is still essentially a national "emotional resonance"。
The Koreans haven't changed, they've changed the tables, they're not just gambling, they're leveraging。
ACCORDING TO BLOOMBERG, SOUTH KOREAN DIASPORA INVESTORS ARE INCREASING THEIR LEVERAGE SIGNIFICANTLY, RESULTING IN A DOUBLING OF THE BOND LOAN BALANCE WITHIN FIVE YEARS, AND THEIR INFLUX INTO HIGH LEVERAGE AND REVERSE ETF。
According to GL, in 2025, South Korea ' s bulk-leverage accounted for 28.7 per cent of total holdings, an increase of 9 per cent over the previous year; 3 leverage-leveraging products increased from 5.1 per cent to 12.8 per cent, and youth aged 25 to 35 years used 41.2 per cent。
It's a family with a "shoha gene."。
However, the problem arises when the Korean diaspora collectively moves to the stock market:
"The Koreans don't give a shit. Who's gonna pick up the money? I don't know
Over the past few years, the Korean market has often been the last player of the mountain coin。
FROM DOG COINS TO PEPE, FROM LUNA TO XRP, THE KOREAN DIASPORA CAN BE SEEN IN ALMOST EVERY ROUND OF CRAZY CATTLE。
They represent the ultimate emotional indicators of the global encryption market, and the bubble will not reach its peak as long as Korea is still buying it。
But now, Upbit, Bitumb's trade has collapsed, and the money rings have lost their last followers, and the biggest fuel。
Yamamoto, no drive。
MAYBE, UNTIL THIS ROUND OF THE AI STOCK MARKET LOSES ITS HEAT, OR THE MONEY RING CAN TELL A STORY THAT'S IMPRESSIVE ENOUGH。
At that time, sleeping gamblers were awakened and returned to bet on the chain。
After all, gamblers keep changing casinos。