Crypto trading on South Korea's exchanges rises 82% as KOSPI drops

Crypto trading on South Korea's five largest exchanges surged 82% on July 28, coinciding with a more than 10% drop in the KOSPI that triggered a circuit breaker. Combined trading volume on Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax reached 964.11 million dollars, up 82.45% from the previous month's daily average of 528.39 million dollars. The volume remained high at 831.76 million dollars on July 29, reflecting a 57.4% increase over the prior one-month average, as the KOSPI fell sharply for a second consecutive day. The report indicated that funds exiting the stock market may have shifted to crypto, while some trading on overseas exchanges could have been aimed at purchasing Korean stock-linked products at lower prices or speculating on further declines.