4 weeks ago
The full worth of virtual assets held by South Korean investors plummeted by implicit $41 cardinal successful astir 1 year, according to Bank of Korea data.
Key Takeaways
- Bank of Korea information shows home virtual plus holdings fell implicit 50% to $41.17 cardinal by February 2026.
- Investors shifted superior to booming banal markets arsenic bitcoin trading volumes crashed by 70% successful aboriginal 2026.
- High speech rates volition apt thrust further request for dollar-pegged Stablecoins done precocious 2026.
Massive Capital Migration to Stocks
The worth of virtual assets held by home investors successful South Korea has plummeted by much than $41 cardinal (60 trillion won) implicit the past year, arsenic a cooling crypto marketplace prompted a wide migration of superior toward accepted equities. According to Bank of Korea information reportedly submitted May 10 to Rep. Cha Kyu-keun of the Rebuilding Korea Party, the total valuation of home virtual assets stood astatine astir $41.17 cardinal arsenic of the extremity of February.
The diminution marks a staggering reversal from the market’s highest successful January 2024, erstwhile holdings reached $82.76 billion. In conscionable implicit 12 months, the full worth of these integer portfolios has been slashed by much than half. The retreat from the crypto assemblage is further evidenced by a crisp contraction successful trading volume and liquidity.
According to a section report, during the play nether review, mean regular trading volume, which surged to $11.62 cardinal successful December 2024, fell to conscionable $3.06 cardinal by February 2025. Won-denominated deposits—often viewed arsenic “waiting funds” for aboriginal crypto purchases—dropped from $7.27 cardinal successful precocious 2024 to $5.30 cardinal successful February.
Analysts property this exodus to a “perfect storm” of a bullish planetary banal marketplace and a simultaneous downturn successful large cryptocurrencies similar bitcoin. While the broader crypto marketplace faced a sell-off, stablecoins saw a important emergence successful popularity.
Holdings of stablecoins reached a precocious of $592.7 cardinal successful December 2024. Although that fig dipped to $412.5 cardinal by February, the assemblage has inactive seen its worth much than treble compared to July 2024 levels, erstwhile holdings were a specified $60.1 million.
Meanwhile, fiscal experts quoted successful the study suggest the surge successful stablecoin request is driven by South Koreans seeking dollar-based assets to hedge against precocious speech rates and marketplace volatility.
“The displacement reflects an wide diminution successful valuation and a pivot toward much stable, interest-bearing home and planetary banal markets,” the study noted.
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