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

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.

BREAKING: For the first time ever, $XRP’s trading volume has exceeded the combined volumes of Ethereum and Bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/rGWiZ0YXUj

— Jacob King (@JacobKinge) December 3, 2024

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.

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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