Seventy-five billion dollars in foreign capital flight
By Zhou, ChainCatcher
LAST SUNDAY, YOUNG WEIDA, WONG IN-HOON, ARRIVED IN SEOUL FOR DINNER WITH THE HEAD OF THE SK GROUP, CHOI TAE-JIN, AND SK HERCULES, CEO GUO. AFTER THE MEAL, YOUNG WEIDA ANNOUNCED A MULTI-YEAR TECHNICAL COOPERATION AGREEMENT WITH OFFICIAL SK HERCULES, AND HOANG IN-HOON PUBLICLY STATED THAT THE PRICE OF THE SHARES OF AI IS CURRENTLY VERY LOW AND THAT THE SHORTAGE OF STORAGE CHIPS WILL CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL YEARS。
BUT THE NEXT MONDAY, WHEN IT OPENED, KOSPI WENT OVER 8.8%, THREE-STAR ELECTRONICS WENT DOWN ONCE, 10%, SK HERCULES WENT DOWN, 10%, THE SOUTH KOREAN EXCHANGE STARTED TO MELT AND THE WHOLE MARKET WAS SUSPENDEDI don't knowThe biggest single-day fall since the creation of this round of cattle。
According to President Lee, Korean stock markets are still undervalued。TodayCloseI don't knowKOSPI SURGED 8.18 PER CENT, SK HERCULES REBOUNDED 15.91 PER CENT A DAY, AND TRISTAR ELECTRONICS SURGED 8.97 PER CENT。
According to Goldman Sachs, cumulative net sales of South Korean equities have reached $75 billion since this year, and global investors are selling South Korean equities at an unprecedented rate。By contrastIn the same period, local Korean diasporas and institutions accumulated net purchases of about $69 billion and continued to take over from foreign investment。
At the same time, the South Korean stock market ' s financing balances soared to historical records, with large amounts of capital going through the stock market。
Korea's encrypted funds cut to the stock market: warehouse size, evaporation 80%
Korea used to be one of the highest encrypted and most emotional markets in the world. The Upbit spot trade was once the second highest in the world, after currency. The price of encrypted assets such as bitcoin on the Korean local exchange has long been about 10 per cent higher than on other global exchanges, a difference known as the pickle premium, which is the most intuitive way in which Korean diaspora FOMO emotions are measured。
From 2025 onwards, the funds beganObviouslyYesSystematic migration。DataShowI don't knowThe total value of encrypted warehouses held by Korean investors fell sharply from about $83.3 billion in January 2025 to about $41.4 billion in February 2026, a decrease of over 50 per cent. Of these, the average daily transaction volume of Upbit fell from about $9 billion in December 2024 to a shortfall of $1.8 billion in November 2025, a contraction of nearly 80 per cent。
In the same periodKoreaSynthesisIndexKOSPI CLIMBED FROM ITS LOW POINT IN APRIL 2025, CUMULATIVELY INCREASING BY MORE THAN 280%, financing balance inThis yearat the end of may, a record 38 trillion won was washed down, and the balance of five major banks' personal credit loans surged to over 10.6 trillion won. many investors who used to be active in meme and attcoin turned to leverage to buy semiconductor shares。
This transformation has infiltratedPresentKoreanYesDaily lifeMediumI don't know. The number of new accounts opened for minors under the age of 18 was nearly 10 times greater than the number of new accounts opened at the supermarkets, where the elderly discussed the triple-star movement in line. The presence of primary school students and even pre-school child shareholders is often seen at shareholders ' conferences of large listed companies such as Samsung Electronics。Young parents are popular on the day of the birthOpen it upEquitiesAccountI don't knowBuying semiconductor stocks。
ACCORDING TO KB SECURITIES ANALYSIS, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS RANKED FIRST IN 56.3 PER CENT OF THE SHARES GIVEN TO MINORS THIS YEAR AROUND THE CHILDREN ' S DAY THROUGH STOCK GIFT SERVICES。
Korean shareholders are using pensions and credit. Come on. Bar
There are three forces behind this round。
Number one:The industry narrative is hard enoughI DON'T KNOW. IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2026, BUSINESS PROFITS ROSE BY 756 PER CENT OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR AND REACHED A RECORD HIGH; SK HERCULES ALONE GREW 198 PER CENT OVER THE SAME PERIOD, WITH FOUR CONSECUTIVE QUARTERLY UPDATES. GLOBAL AI SURGES OF POWER DEMAND HAVE ALLOWED BOTH ENTERPRISES TO HAVE THEIR FUNDAMENTALS BACKSTOPPED FOR QUITE SOME TIME. DURING HUANG IN-HOON ' S VISIT TO KOREA, IT WAS MADE CLEAR THAT THE ENTIRE INDUSTRY WAS IN SHORT SUPPLY FROM THE CRYSTAL CIRCLE TO THE SEAL TO ALMOST EVERY LINK OF SILICON, A SITUATION THAT WOULD CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL YEARS。
SecondThe government took the initiativeI don't know. Lee has called for a 5,000-point target for the Korean stock, amended the commercial law to require listed companies to cancel their stock buybacks, move ahead with the reform of dividends tax, and make wealth effects part of the legitimacy of government. On the day of the collapse of the market, Lee, at his anniversary press conference, continued to claim that the stock market was undervalued. This policy signal provides a sense of psychological security for the Korean diaspora that has experienced the run-off of the encrypted exchange and the collapse of Terra/Luna。
Number three:The friction on the encryption side continues to accumulateI don't know. Twenty-two per cent of the encrypted proceeds tax has been confirmed to land in January 2027, the regulatory authorities are simultaneously advancing new anti-money-laundering rules, and the second-largest exchange, Bitumb, has been partially suspended for six monthsI don't knowThe threshold for access to encryption is raised and the stock-market leverage threshold is relatively low。
It's worth itIt's about..I don't knowDataThe group of older persons holds nearly one third of the financing balance, and their financing debt doubled from about 3.95 trillion won to 8 trillion won in a year, including a loss-deprivation of insurance and the removal of the cash value of life insurance from and out of the market. Forty per cent of the households under 30 years of age use more than three times leverage, and some investors use consumer loans and credit cards to build up。
This group of people is similar to the top of the encrypted cattle market in 2021I don't knowAll unprofessional investors driven by wealth narrativesI don't know。They..We have to bet on a single course with leverage that exceeds our own risk toleranceSelectionI believe that this is a unique opportunity。
The pickle premium is near the ice point
At the end of the day, there is no difference between the bottom logic of the Koreans firing encryption and the nature of the stock now. High-technology acceptance, a highly internalized climate of social competition, and near-closing hierarchies have combined to shape a dispersed group with natural preferences for volatile assets。
And the Korean familyFundsAccess has long been an early signal of a high-risk global preference for retail capital flows。
IN THE MAJOR GLOBAL ENCRYPTION MARKETS, THE UNITED STATES HAS ENTERED AN INSTITUTIONAL-LED PHASE, WITH ANNUALIZED INFLOWS OF BITCOIN ETF ON A SCALE OF OVER $150 BILLION IN EARLY 2026, WITH CENTRALIZED PRICING AUTHORITY. THE FOCUS OF HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE IS ON COMPLIANCE INFRASTRUCTURE AND MONETARY STABILIZATION FRAMEWORKS, WITH RELATIVELY LIMITED RETAIL PARTICIPATION. IN SOUTH-EAST ASIA, THE BULK IS ACTIVE BUT DISPERSEDandRegulatory environmentRelativeUnstable。
KoreaAlmostIt's the only one with high retail density, a strong speculative culture, a centralized exchange infrastructure and an extreme sensitivity to global macroeconomic narrativesYesMarketI don't know。
But..I don't knowThis post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011Korea's encryption market is experiencing power transfer. The end of the diaspora era, with traditional financial institutions taking over critical infrastructure before regulation becomes clearI don't know。
Over the past six months, the total trade volume of the five major encryption exchanges in Korea has declined by about 48 per cent over the same period。Pickle premiumYeahFrom around 10%High end sustainedShrinkI don't knowCurrentEvenDown toNegativeI don't know。
According to financial data, the Upbit operator Dunamu lost about 10 per cent in 2025, 2026 Q1More soProfit decline of approximately 78 per cent per year。
PictureSource:RootData
Even so, Hanya Bank acquired 6.55 per cent of its equity in about $720 million and added its investment securities to 9.84 per centI don't knowTRISTAR SECURITIES, TRISTAR SDS AND TRISTAR CREDIT CARDSMore soA joint hit of over $400 million to buy 4% of Dunamu's equity。
The future assets take over 90% of Korbit's holdings at about $100 million, and Korean investment securities and OKX Ventures share nearly 40% of Coinone's shares。
THESE TRADITIONAL GIANTS VIEW THE EXCHANGE AS A STRATEGIC SPRINGBOARD FOR STO, CURRENCY STABILIZATION AND HOSTING OPERATIONS。
The analysis suggests that these acquisitions are not so much market grabs as the design of regulatory arrangements — institutions take advantage of them before regulatory decisions are made — to influence the shape of the final framework。
The Korean encryption market now has 150 institutions involved and 196 partnerships, but no single hub has taken control. Even the approach of overseas projecters is changing, with Solana working with Xinhanka, Avalanche working with future assets, shifting the focus from the diaspora to financial institutions。
AT THE POLICY LEVEL, THE KOREAN GOVERNMENT HAS PROPOSED IN ITS ECONOMIC GROWTH STRATEGY 2026 THAT THIS YEAR IT PLANS TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE LANDING OF DIGITAL ASSETS SUCH AS BITCOIN, ETF, AND TO EXPEDITE THE SECOND PHASE OF LEGISLATION ON DIGITAL ASSETS BY THE FINANCE COMMITTEE。
Concluding remarks
Korea's speculative culture has never disappeared, except for the current stock market leverage rush that has diverted some of the encrypted fundsandKoreaYesEncryptionMarkets are experiencing a “breeding of the diaspora, institutional entry”YesTrendsI don't know。
WHEN KOSPI REALLY STARTS THE DELEVERAGING PROCESS, WHERE THE HIGH-RISK PREFERENCE CAPITAL WILL BE LOOKING FOR THE NEXT EXPORT IS A MATTER OF ENCRYPTION MARKETS WORTH TRACKING。
