Home South Korea’s $18b crypto trade volumes outperform stock market

South Korea’s $18b crypto trade volumes outperform stock market

TLDR

  • South Korea's retail crypto trading volumes spiked to $18 billion, outpacing stock market growth.
  • XRP, Dogecoin, Stellar, ENS, and HBAR saw major trading volume surges in South Korea.
  • Ripple's XRP hit a yearly high of $2.80, surpassing Solana and Tether in market cap.

In South Korea, crypto traders are said to have been plunged into a frenzy over several “high momentum” altcoins, as retail trading volumes spiked up to $18 billion. 

The significant rise in retail trading volumes for crypto assets outperformed the country’s mainstream stock market by around 22%, according to 10x Research. 

The company’s founder, Markus Thielen, indicated in a market report on Monday (Dec. 2) that the volumes had reached the second highest level of 2024, spurred by the resurgent altcoins. 

Ripple’s XRP token recorded over $6.3 billion in trade volumes on the day, with Dogecoin (DOGE)  – which rallied last week – in second place on $1.6 billion. Next on the list was Stellar (XLM) at $1.3 billion, followed by Ethereum Name Service (ENS) and Hedera (HBAR), at $900 and $800 million on the South Korea list, respectively.

From the tokens named above, XRP, ENS, and HBAR are known as “dino coins”. They have all been noted as strong performers against the rest of the market, with gains of 90%, 73%, and a massive 168% over the last seven days. 

In particular, Ripple has recorded excellent growth over the last month from $0.50 to $2.80, a new yearly high as of December 2. This has seen the token exceed Solana and Tether in market cap, assuming the position of the third-largest crypto asset by total volume.

10x Research CEO acknowledges altcoin action

Thielen of 10x Research stated there was ample reasoning to state an “altseason” is underway, supported by the parallel rise in trading volume for altcoins. He also pointed to a current Bitcoin trend. 

“We are seeing one of the largest divergences recorded between a relatively mild Bitcoin funding rate at 15% annualized while retail trading volumes in South Korea have ramped up to $18bn,” he said. 

The CEO of the digital asset investment research firm went on to urge activists to ride the waves at present, but to be guarded in their approach when he acknowledged the “action (that) is clearly in the altcoin market.”

Image credit: Via Midjourney

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The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech, gambling and blockchain industries for major developments, new product and brand launches, AI breakthroughs, game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to in-house staff writers with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Graeme Hanna
Tech Journalist

Graeme Hanna is a full-time, freelance writer with significant experience in online news as well as content writing. Since January 2021, he has contributed as a football and news writer for several mainstream UK titles including The Glasgow Times, Rangers Review, Manchester Evening News, MyLondon, Give Me Sport, and the Belfast News Letter. Graeme has worked across several briefs including news and feature writing in addition to other significant work experience in professional services. Now a contributing news writer at ReadWrite.com, he is involved with pitching relevant content for publication as well as writing engaging tech news stories.

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