Even Without Musk... Upbit Surpasses KOSPI Trading Volume

Unlike the stagnant KOSPI, the uptrend continues with large investor participation

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] Unlike the stagnant stock market, the cryptocurrency market is reviving. Along with the market recovery, the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit has once again surpassed the KOSPI in trading volume.

According to cryptocurrency market tracking site CoinMarketCap as of 8:55 a.m. on the 30th, Upbit's 24-hour trading volume recorded approximately 12.4382 trillion KRW. This figure exceeds the KOSPI's trading volume of 11.0399 trillion KRW on the 27th. The total trading volume of the four major domestic exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit) is about 13.8418 trillion KRW.

The domestic stock market has recently been struggling. After eight consecutive trading days of decline since the 5th, the KOSPI, which was approaching the 3300 level, has fallen to the 3100 range. Along with this, trading volume has also significantly decreased. On the 27th, the KOSPI's daily trading volume was 520.67 million shares, the lowest since October 29 of last year.

In contrast, the cryptocurrency market is gaining momentum along with the rise of altcoins. This is the opposite trend compared to June, when the average daily trading volume of the four major exchanges was only 6.7 trillion KRW. On this day, Bitcoin Cash ABC and Sandbox, ranked first and second in Upbit's growth rate, recorded trading volumes of 2.7378 trillion KRW and 1.1976 trillion KRW, respectively. The representative cryptocurrency Bitcoin's trading volume remained at 666.7 billion KRW.

This recent surge differs from the earlier rise driven by celebrities such as Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, at the beginning of the year. Between February and April, Bitcoin rose by more than 40 million KRW in two months following Elon Musk's continuous supportive remarks and Tesla's purchase of $1.5 billion (about 1.746 trillion KRW) worth of Bitcoin. However, although Amazon raised market expectations by posting a job advertisement for cryptocurrency-related experts on the 23rd of last month, Amazon denied plans to introduce a cryptocurrency payment system.

Recently, participation by large investors has been driving the market's upward trend. According to cryptocurrency data firm Chainalysis, large investors holding Bitcoin worth $50 million have purchased an additional $10 billion worth of Bitcoin since June 22. Chainalysis analyzed that the Bitcoin holdings of large investors have also recovered to the levels seen in February.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.