As 2025 dawns, South Korea is witnessing a seismic shift in its investment landscape, with retail traders dramatically abandoning cryptocurrencies in favor of the booming stock market. Once a thriving center of crypto speculation—and home to the infamous ‘Kimchi Premium’—South Korea now finds its trading volumes in crypto plummeting, while enthusiasm for AI-linked stocks is surging.
Crypto trading volumes in South Korea have experienced a staggering decline of approximately 80% this year. Exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb, which were bustling with activity just a year ago, are now reporting significant drops in transaction volumes. In the final months of 2025, Upbit’s daily trading volume plummeted from nearly $9 billion in late 2024 to only $1.8 billion, a sharp reflection of the current market mood.
The landscape of Korean crypto exchanges has changed dramatically, with daily trading volumes wobbling between $2 billion and $4 billion compared to the dizzying peaks of $5 billion to $27 billion seen a year prior. This decline in activity is mirrored in the number of daily deposits, which fell from a peak of 280,000 in 2018 to a mere 50,000 in 2025. This withdrawal signifies not only a loss of investor enthusiasm but also a major reshuffling of risk appetite among retail traders.
As the allure of crypto wanes, South Korea’s retail investors have swiftly redirected their focus to the stock market. This transition has evidently fueled a vibrant rally, with the KOSPI index experiencing a remarkable increase of over 70% in 2025. The benchmark index has reached unprecedented highs, largely powered by the explosive growth of semiconductor companies linked to AI, such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
The demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, essential for AI training and applications, has thrust these companies into the limelight, drawing millions of new retail investors to the South Korean stock market—a move in search of the speculative gains they previously sought within crypto realms. By the end of October 2025, the number of active trading accounts surged from 86.57 million to 95.33 million, a testament to this new enthusiasm for equities.
Despite the shift from crypto to stocks, South Korean retail traders retain their speculative zeal. Strategies reminiscent of their previous crypto trading methods—leveraged trading, margin lending, and the employment of leveraged ETFs—are now being applied to equities as investors strive to maximize returns. Analysts are observing a transformation in investor motivation; no longer is the focus simply on quick digital currency gains; it now encompasses a sense of national pride and technological ambition, especially in the context of the dynamic semiconductor industry.
This transition is not only reshaping domestic investment patterns but is also sending ripples through the global financial landscape. Korean investors, long seen as pivotal participants in global crypto liquidity, have shifted their focus away from digital assets, contributing to a decline in overall market volatility and trading activity. Although Bitcoin continues to reach new highs, the overall sentiment within the crypto market has cooled significantly, with many altcoins experiencing substantial losses.
Though South Korean retail traders may have exited the crypto scene, their active engagement in the stock market suggests that speculation remains alive and well. This adjustment of risk implies that while South Korea’s role in global finance may be diminishing in terms of crypto investments, its impact on broader markets through equities continues to hold significance.
