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South Korean retail traders have continued to favor crypto-related stocks instead of high-profile US tech firms amid growing disappointment with companies like Tesla and the global push for digital assets.

Tesla Loses Ground, Bitmine Gains Momentum

On Monday, Bloomberg reported that Tesla stock has lost ground among South Korea’s retail investors, who ramped up their selling during August in favor of crypto-related equities.

According to the report, the electric carmaker company has seen a $1.8 billion exodus over the past four months, suggesting weakening enthusiasm among one of Tesla’s most loyal global retail investor bases.

A 33-year-old retail trader told the news media outlet that the company has been unable “to win people’s hearts” as it has “failed to lead with its own AI narrative.” The investor, who first bought the stock in 2019, sold out earlier this year to focus on equities that currently have more upside.

Bloomberg calculations of depository data revealed that while the company remains the top foreign stock among South Korean retail traders, individual investors sold approximately $657 million of Tesla stock in August, recording the company’s largest outflows since 2019.

In contrast, retail traders in South Korea favored more volatile bets in August, like crypto-related stocks. During this period, investors poured $253 million into Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc., which is seen as a proxy for Ethereum (ETH).

As reported by Bitcoinist, South Korean investors purchased $259 million worth of Bitmine stock in July, Bloomberg previously highlighted. According to Korea Securities Depository data, this made the company the most purchased foreign security stock.

Korean Investors Pour Millions Into Crypto Stocks

Data from the Korean Center for International Finance (KCIF) showed that the percentage of crypto-linked equities in the top 50 net-bought stocks by local retail investors increased from 8.5% in January to 36.5% in June before dropping to 31.4% in July.

Citing a report from 10x Research, The Korea Times highlighted that individuals have purchased over $12 billion worth of crypto-related stock in 2025, with Bitmine, Circle Internet Group, and Coinbase leading the sector.

Retail investors’ buying spree reportedly intensified last month, as traders poured $426 million into Bitmine, $226 million into Circle, and $183 million into Coinbase. This marks a shift from the leading trend over the past few years, when Korean retail investors poured into US tech giants.

“Korean investors are pouring billions into crypto stocks, reshaping global flows in ways Wall Street can no longer ignore,” the report affirms. Adding that “the push has been amplified by U.S. and Korean stablecoin legislation, creating a powerful backdrop for this surge in capital.”

Amid the global push for digital assets regulation, the institutionalization of won-pegged stablecoins gained significant attention, with President Lee Jae-myung vowing to address it alongside the status of crypto-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) during his electoral campaign.

Since then, multiple bills related to the issuance and distribution of KRW-pegged stablecoins have been introduced in South Korea’s National Assembly. Nonetheless, the industry has expressed concerns about the disconnect between the industry and South Korean regulators.

On September 1, the nominee for Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Lee Won-eun stated that digital assets “differ from traditional financial products like deposits and securities in that they lack intrinsic value.”

In his written response to the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee, Lee also expressed a negative stance on specific policies related to cryptocurrencies, including whether to allow investment in virtual assets through pension and retirement accounts. This raised concerns among multiple industry players that a one-sided regulatory policy may continue.

Ethereum (ETH) trades $4,366 in the one-week chart. Source: ETHUSDT on TradingView

Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

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South Korean retail investors have recently shifted their focus when investing in overseas stocks, moving from US big tech stocks to crypto-related equities amid growing global interest in the sector.

South Korean Investors Turn To Crypto Stocks

Over the past few months, South Korean individuals investing in overseas stocks have shifted from US big tech equities to crypto-linked stocks, recent data showed, with a focus on stablecoin-related companies.

Citing data from the Korean Center for International Finance (KCIF), Yonhap News Agency reported that the percentage of crypto-linked equities in the top 50 net-bought stocks by local retail investors increased from 8.5% in January to 36.5% in June before dropping to 31.4% last month.

Meanwhile, net purchases of the top seven US big tech stocks declined nearly 74% from a monthly average of $1.68 billion between January and April to $440 million in May, further dropping to $260 million in July.

According to the report, South Korean investors became net sellers of overseas stocks in May and June but returned to net buying in July with $499 million in purchases. Nonetheless, the new momentum was considerably weaker compared to the $3.8 billion monthly average buying between January and April.

“Since June, the domestic stock market has outperformed overseas markets, while the local currency has strengthened, prompting individual investors to withdraw their investments from foreign markets,” Yonhap News Agency noted, citing the KCIF report.

On Monday, Bloomberg also highlighted that South Korean retail investors have flocked to BitMine Immersion Technologies over the past month, as investors “continue to be drawn to the kind of high-risk, high-reward opportunities on offer in crypto.”

The news media outlet reported that local retail investors have poured $259 million into Bitmine stocks since the start of July. According to Korea Securities Depository data, this made the company the most purchased foreign security stock during that period.

Notably, BitMine is a Bitcoin and Ethereum Network Company “with a focus on the accumulation of Crypto for long-term investment.” It recently became the largest ETH treasury in the world and the third-largest crypto treasury globally, with its holdings surpassing 1.15 million ETH, valued at $4.96 billion at current prices.

Retail Shift Fueled By Stablecoin Momentum

According to the KCIF report, the surge in crypto-related equities, and particularly stocks related to stablecoins, follows the passage of landmark crypto legislation in the US. President Donald Trump signed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act into law last month, setting a framework for much-needed stablecoin regulation and innovation in the country.

Amid the US push, stablecoins have also seen growing momentum in several jurisdictions, including South Korea. In June, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) proposed a comprehensive legislation to establish a more structured regulatory framework for crypto assets in the country, which included a licensing system for stablecoin issuers.

In July, South Korea’s ruling and opposition parties also proposed rival bills to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets pegged to the Korean Won (KRW) to advance the ongoing efforts to institutionalize the sector.

As reported by Bitcoinist, the banking sector is preparing for the upcoming legislation, studying two legalization scenarios, as it remains unclear whether non-bank entities will be allowed to be stablecoin issuers.

The financial institutions are also considering a business model in which banks establish a joint venture to collectively issue stablecoins, and have reportedly contacted various non-bank companies to prepare for the legalization and issuance of KRW-pegged digital assets.

Ethereum (ETH) trades at $4,275 in the one-week chart. Source: ETHUSDT on TradingView

Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.

David Sacks unloaded hundreds of millions of dollars worth of digital asset-related investments prior to starting his job as the Trump administration’s artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto czar.

According to a White House memo issued by Presidential Counsel David A. Warrington, Sacks and his investment firm Craft Ventures liquidated their crypto holdings, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL), before Trump started his second term on January 20th.

Sacks also sold his position in the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW) and unloaded his shares in Coinbase (COIN), Robinhood (HOOD) and private digital asset companies as well as limited partner interests in crypto-focused investment funds, including Multicoin Capital and Blockchain Capital.

The White House adds that Sacks started to sell his limited partner interests in roughly 90 venture capital funds “out of an abundance of caution” as the firms may choose to invest in the digital asset industry.

Warrington says Sacks and Craft Ventures disposed of over $200 million worth of investments in the digital asset industry, including at least $85 million personally held by Sacks, in a bid to protect the integrity of his position as special advisor for crypto.

“Crucially, you have already taken significant steps to minimize potential conflicts of interest due to digital asset holdings – divesting from hundreds of millions of dollars in digital assets or digital asset-related industry entities.”

While Sacks has either liquidated or is in the process of unloading his remaining exposure to the digital asset industry, the memo notes that Craft Ventures still has interests in crypto-related firms, including the token management platform BitGo, proof-of-space and proof-of-time blockchain Chia Network and blockchain-based gaming developer Dapper Labs.

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Bitcoin (BTC) bears looked to penetrate key support Sunday, extending a three-day losing streak as macroeconomic concerns overshadowed President Donald Trump’s recent-crypto-related announcements.

The leading cryptocurrency by market value slipped over 3% to $83,200, testing the 200-day simple moving average (SMA), according to CoinDesk and TradingView data. Prices have dropped over 10% since putting highs above $92,800 Thursday.

The latest decline comes as trade tensions between the U.S. and China are set to escalate on Monday. Beijing will levy tariffs on certain U.S. agricultural goods in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s latest hike on Chinese imports. The tariff war has injected significant uncertainty in the market and for policymakers.

On Friday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reaffirmed that the central bank will maintain its cautious stance on interest rates while assessing the economic impact of President Donald Trump’s policy shifts. The comments came on the heels of a soft U.S. nonfarm payrolls report and expectations for at least three Fed rate cuts this year.

According to observers, these developments, coupled with recessionary signals from the bond market, are taking focus away from Trump’s recent announcement of a strategic BTC stockpile.

“Despite the very positive news, Bitcoin fell 4% from $90,000 to under $87,000 in hours. It appears focus on Trump’s crypto-related actions are increasingly secondary as tariff war fears accelerate,” analytics firm IntoTheBlock said in the weekly newsletter to subscribers Friday.

The firm added that macro concerns, mainly tariff-related, have been pushing down markets, noting the strengthening positive correlation between bitcoin, ether and U.S. stocks.

“Further actions like Trump stating he’s not even looking at the stock market, and his administration targeting lower long-term interest rates instead, suggest that investor expectations of a Trump bull market may have been too eager,” the firm said.

Noelle Acheson, the author of Crypto Is Macro Now, said in Saturday’s edition that BTC’s dour price action in the wake of the strategic stockpile announcement “underscores how macro concerns still weigh heavy on crypto assets.”

The chart shows buyers stepped in below the 200-day SMA on Feb. 28 and March 2, leading to a price bounce. The market will likely keep an eye on this level to see if traders do the same again.