‘Only 1% of Super-Rich South Koreans’ Willing to Invest in Crypto – Survey

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Tim AlperVerified
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Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked...

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Crypto investment has hit sky-high levels in South Korea this year, with trading volumes at most exchanges breaking all sorts of records, leaving stock market volumes in the dust behind. The issue of crypto has even infiltrated mainstream politics, where it could set to determine the result of next year’s presidential elections.

But despite the fact that candidates are resorting to manifesto pledges as ambitious as possible free token giveaways, the nation’s super-rich are still shying away from coins like bitcoin (BTC) – in favor of traditional markets like the stock exchange.

Per the Munhwa Ilbo and EToday, the findings were published in a report by the KB Financial Group (the operator of Kookmin Bank), which quizzed 400 South Koreans with over USD 850,000 worth of assets – and who are thus categorized as “wealthy.”

According to the report, when asked if they had any intention of investing in cryptoassets, 70% of respondents answered that they had “no intention.” A further 26.8% were unsure, with just 3.3% stating that they were “willing to invest.”

And the report’s authors noted that in most cases, those answering “no” to the question of whether they were willing to invest said that they thought crypto investments were too “risky.”

The very richest surveyed – those with around USD 2.5m or more worth of assets – seemed the most crypto-skeptic of all. Almost half of this demographic stated that they “do not trust” crypto exchanges. And around a third of the same group admitted that their own lack of knowledge about how the crypto markets work was holding them back.

In this group, a paltry 1% stated they had an interest in making crypto investments.

For the rich, by far and away the most popular investment tool was the stock market, with over 60% stating they owned shares in listed companies. A further 19% stated they invested in funds, with another 15% investing in “gold and jewelry.”

Those with assets worth over USD 2.5m were also more likely to invest in overseas companies, with over a third indicating a preference for companies based outside South Korea. Fund investors overwhelmingly plumped for Chinese funds – likely attracted by high growth rate figures from recent years.

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