Crypto Fever Back in South Korea, Average USD 7B Per Day Transacted

A new report from South Korea appears to show that the latest rush in bitcoin (BTC) and altcoin investment in the country is “now higher than three years ago,” and that it’s not all about the new wave of Korean “crypto moms” – younger folk are also laying down some serious capital in their investments.

Crypto “fever,” as it was termed by the South Korean media at the time, came to a boil in late 2017 and early 2018, with teenagers and octogenarians alike forking out their pocket money and pensions on tokens – before a market slump and the introduction of a series of tight regulations.

But it appears that the Tesla bitcoin buy announcement earlier this year has had serious repercussions in South Korea, and has galvanized crypto investors of all ages.

Per an investigation by Dong-A, one of the nation’s three biggest newspapers, citizens aged 20-39 are now investing thousands of USD at a time.

The media outlet quoted data compiled by the Democratic Party MP Kim Byeong-wook using figures from the Bithumb, Upbit, Korbit and Coinone trading platforms from January 1 to February 25. The statistics revealed that domestic customers have transacted an average of USD 7bn per day in this time period on the three exchanges – 42% of the daily average traded on the KOSPI stock exchange.

The data also showed that a total of around USD 394bn was transacted by customers on the four exchanges’ platforms in the same timeframe, well over the total amount traded in the whole of 2020 (USD 315.5bn). The figure is also three times higher than the transaction totals at the peak of Korean Crypto Fever 1.0 in January 2018.

The media outlet added that over 1.9m first-time crypto investors had created accounts on the four market-leading platforms in the period January 1, 2021 to February 18.

And the newspaper featured testimonies from a number of twenty- and thirty-something crypto investors who claimed that the “crypto jackpot” was far more lucrative than the stock market, and adding that Tesla’s move had inspired their investment choices.
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Learn more:
– Inspired by Tesla, South Korean Crypto Moms Take the Bitcoin Plunge
– Not Only Bitcoin Price Is Changing During This Bull Run
– Crypto in 2021: Institutions Prefer Bitcoin, Retail Open to Altcoins
– 1 Million First-time Buyers Bought Bitcoin on Dorsey’s Cash App Last Month
– 50% of Inexperienced Investors to Hold Bitcoin Less Than a Year – Survey