Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

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

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.

The North Korean state-sponsored hackers known as Kimsuky has reportedly suffered a data breach after two hackers, who describe themselves as the opposite of Kimsuky’s values, stole the group’s data and leaked it publicly online.

The two hackers, named ‘Saber’ and ‘cyb0rg,’ cited ethical reasons for their actions, saying Kimsuky is “hacking for all the wrong reasons,” claiming they’re driven by political agendas and follow regime orders instead of practicing the art of hacking independently.

“Kimsuky, you are not a hacker. You are driven by financial greed, to enrich your leaders, and to fulfill their political agenda,” reads the hackers’ address to Kimsuky published in the latest issue of Phrack, which was distributed at the DEF CON 33 conference.

“You steal from others and favour your own. You value yourself above the others: You are morally perverted.”

The hackers dumped a portion of Kimsuky’s backend, exposing both their tooling and some of their stolen data that could provide insight into unknown campaigns and undocumented compromises.

The 8.9GB dump currently hosted on the ‘Distributed Denial of Secrets” website contains, among others:

• Phishing logs with multiple dcc.mil.kr (Defense Counterintelligence Command) email accounts.
• Other targeted domains: spo.go.kr, korea.kr, daum.net, kakao.com, naver.com.
• .7z archive containing the complete source code of South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs email platform (“Kebi”), including webmail, admin, and archive modules.
• References to South Korean citizen certificates and curated lists of university professors.
• PHP “Generator” toolkit for building phishing sites with detection evasion and redirection tricks.
• Live phishing kits.
• Unknown binary archives (voS9AyMZ.tar.gz, Black.x64.tar.gz) and executables (payload.bin, payload_test.bin, s.x64.bin) not flagged in VirusTotal.
• Cobalt Strike loaders, reverse shells, and Onnara proxy modules found in VMware drag-and-drop cache.
• Chrome history and configs linking to suspicious GitHub accounts (wwh1004.github.io, etc.), VPN purchases (PureVPN, ZoogVPN) via Google Pay, and frequent use of hacking forums (freebuf.com, xaker.ru).
• Google Translate use for Chinese error messages and visits to Taiwan government and military sites.
• Bash history with SSH connections to internal systems.

The hackers note that some of the above are already known or previously documented, at least partially.

However, the dump gives a new dimension to the data and provides interlinking between Kimsuky’s tools and activities, exposing and effectively “burning” the APT’s infrastructure and methods.

BleepingComputer has contacted various security researchers to confirm the veracity of the leaked documents and its value and will update the story if we receive a response.

While the breach will likely not have long-term impact on Kimsuky’s operations, it could lead to operational difficulties for Kimsuky and disruptions to ongoing campaigns.

The latest issue of Phrack (#72) is currently only available in a limited physical copy, but the online version should be ready for people to read for free in the following days from here.

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

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.

Why have Korean retail investors shifted their overseas portfolios from US big technology to virtual asset-related stocks? What is especially tied to the stubcoin? A recent report by the Korean International Finance Center (KCIF) revealed by the Korean Times on August 11, 2025, shows that changes in investors’ sentiment are primarily based on the US genius law.

Interestingly, the percentage of crypto-related names among the top 50 net-purchased foreign stocks by Koreans jumped from 8.5% in January to 36.5% in June, relaxing to 31.4% in July this year.

Additionally, net purchases of the top seven big tech stocks in the US averaged $1.68 billion (January to April) each month to $440 million in May, $670 million in June and $260 million in July.

Korean investors are rapidly changing large tech stocks from us Stablecoin InvestmentsDrives into upcoming KRW-backed Stablecoin projects like strong local regulations, US Genius Law, and the launch of Cacao Bank in 2023. This pivot emphasizes growth… pic.twitter.com/djpstcs9ft

– Famacrypt (@famacrypt) August 11, 2025

Explore:12+ Hottest Encryption Presale to Buy Now

KCIF believes the rotation is attributed to increased interest in Stablecoin-related stocks

“Investments in virtual assets, particularly stocks related to Stablecoins, have grown following the passage of the US Genius Act,” the report states.

The report attributes to a growing interest in absurd stock after the US genius law was caught up in the law by US President Donald Trump, and the US genius law established a regulatory framework that allows the private sector of stubcoin to be issued.

In particular, Korean investors are interested in US stocks as domestic stock markets struggle. However, KCIF stated:Although domestic stock markets have outperformed overseas markets since June, local currencies have been strengthened, urging individual investors to withdraw from foreign markets. ”

Read more: South Korea’s political heavyweight spreads over stablecoin bills

South Korea’s political heavyweights are square over the stubcoin bill

Two of South Korea’s biggest political parties are on the centre stage, and have announced their rival Stubcoin bills within the country. The ban on paying interest on Stablecoins is the most controversial issue in the Stablecoin bill.

Lawmakers from both the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the opposition People’s Rights Party (PPP) introduced laws in late July 2025 that could pave the way for winning stubcoins.

According to a local news report released on July 28, 2025,His ruling party believes interest payments should be banned to prevent market disruption, but the opposition believes that winning stubcoins need to be competitive. ”

Each proposal reflects differences in innovation, protection and financial sovereignty.

The newly elected South Korean president, Lee Jae-myeon, has openly advocated for stubcoin, and his administration shows that it will fill a major gap in the country’s financial environment.

Jae-Myung proposes low company eligibility in defending Stablecoins, as a 500m winner ($370,000) to be able to issue Stablecoins.

Explore: Top 20 Cryptos to Buy in August 2025

Why you can trust 99 Bitcoin?

Over 10 years

Founded in 2013, 99 Bitcoin team members have been experts in crypto since the early days of Bitcoin.

90 hours+

Weekly research

100k+

Monthly Readers

50+

Expert Contributors

2000+

Crypto project reviewed

Follow 99 Bitcoin on Google News Feed

Provide the latest updates, trends and insights directly to your fingertips. Subscribe now!

Subscribe now

Author

Tim Alper

Author

Tim Alper

About Author

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…

Share

Last updated: 

July 30, 2025

South Korean prosecutors probing the former President Yoon Suk-yeol and the former First Lady Kim Keon-hee have interrogated the suspected crypto fraudster Jon Bur Kim (real surname Park).

Park, a crypto market maker and luxury sports car collector, has been indicted for crypto fraud. Prosecutors think he issued and manipulated two so-called “scam coins,” and manipulated their prices by issuing fake news about the tokens.

However, prosecutors earlier this month established a possible link between Park’s case and that of the former First Lady.

Kim Keon-hee is accused of peddling influence, stock manipulation, and other corruption-related charges.

Former President Yoon: Arrest Warrant Incoming?

Prosecutors are investigating Kim Keon-hee along with Yoon, who failed in a bid to declare martial law in South Korea in early December last year.

The former President was later impeached. He has since been charged with various corruption-related offences.

But Former President Yoon has twice refused to respond to court summons requests. This has led prosecution officials to consider requesting an arrest warrant.

Yonhap reported that the probe has also expanded to Yoon and Kim’s associates. The South Korean news agency wrote that the special prosecution team is believed to be investigating the former senior prosecutor Kim Sang-min.

Prosecutors believe Kim Sang-min may have “received illicit money” from the chief suspect in a crypto fraud case.

Media outlets assume that this is Park, who is accused of embezzling 80.9 billion won ($58.1 million) worth of investors’ money.

Prosecutors think that Park gave Kim Sang-min money to pay for motor vehicle rental fees. Kim Sang-min then allegedly used this money to pay for the vehicles as he attempted to win the People Power Party nomination for the Changwon Uichang district seat ahead of the April 10 legislative election last year.

Kim Sang-min was ultimately unsuccessful in his bid, and was eliminated during the primaries. But prosecution officials appear to think that Kim Keon-hee used her influence to help him run.

Rug Pull Suspect Summoned

The latest development appears to confirm reports from earlier this month. These claimed that the special prosecution team had asked to see the Park/scam coin case files.

Prosecutors think that Park and a CEO surnamed Moon stole hundreds of billions of won. They think the duo issued and listed a suspected scam coin named Atube in 2021.

They have also accused Park of masterminding a rug pull scam for a token named Podo Coin, also in 2021.

Author

Tim Alper

Author

Tim Alper

About Author

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…

Share

Last updated: 

July 29, 2025

South Korea’s Central Bank has announced it will reorganize its structure to include a “cryptoassets department” as a wave of public sector stablecoin-related activity continues to build momentum.

The South Korean media outlet News1 reported that the Bank of Korea (BOK) has established a new division named the “Cryptoasset Department.”

Cryptoassets Department: New BOK Division to Monitor Crypto Sector

The BOK also announced that its Digital Currency Research Lab, which operates within its Financial Settlement Bureau, will be renamed the Digital Currency Lab on July 31. News1 explained:

“This appears to be an attempt to emphasize its status as a business unit.”

The bank added that it has also reorganized the roles of the teams that make up the lab, and will assign staffers to test token usability.

The BOK said its Cryptoasset Team Department would operate within its Financial Settlement Bureau.

This division, it said, will be responsible for monitoring the crypto market. Its remit will also include Korean won-pegged stablecoins and legislative matters.

The media outlet wrote that experts have interpreted the reshuffle as an “attempt to better respond to recent discussions on stablecoin issuance, while continuing work on its central bank digital currency (CBDC).”

CBDC Plans on Ice?

The BOK recently hit the pause button on its CBDC rollout plans, seemingly in direct response to the government’s stablecoin legalization plans.

The bank seems to believe that CBDC-based deposit tokens are no different from bank-supported KRW stablecoins.

The BOK Governor Rhee Chang-yong said last year that deposit tokens are essentially “stablecoins issued by banks.” Rhee said earlier this month:

“No matter if we are talking about a won stablecoin or a deposit token, we will need a digital currency in the future. We will carefully consider whether it is better to gradually move forward with a focus on the banking sector or to expand this to the wider private sector.”

South Korean Stablecoin Regulation Incoming

The bank’s move comes just hours after the nation’s two biggest political parties rolled out stablecoin regulation bills.

Both bills propose giving the Financial Services Committee sweeping regulatory powers over the stablecoin industry.

Critics think this will significantly diminish the role of the BOK. And the BOK has previously hit out at private sector stablecoin adoption plans.

It claims that KRW-pegged coins could undermine Seoul’s ability to conduct effective monetary policy.

Some of the country’s biggest tech firms have already registered KRW stablecoin-themed trademarks in anticipation of a green light from Seoul.

Author

Tim Alper

Author

Tim Alper

About Author

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…

Share

Last updated: 

July 27, 2025

South Korean crypto exchanges paid their customers $87 million worth of interest on their fiat deposits in the past 12 months.

Per the South Korean news agency Yonhap (via Daum), data on interest payments was submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service on July 27 after a freedom of information request from the Democratic Party lawmaker Heo Young.

Heo is a member of the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee.

South Korean Crypto Exchange Interest Fee Competition

The data shows that the nation’s five fiat-trading platforms have paid their customers interest worth a combined 120.26 billion won since the launch of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act in July last year.

The law stipulates that the exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX) must make reasonable interest payments on fiat deposits held on exchange platforms.

Prior to the law’s launch, platforms typically made nominal interest payments of just 0.1% per annum.

However, the act’s introduction sparked a wave of competition. Platforms began scrambling to draw in new customers with eye-wateringly high interest rates, paid quarterly.

This culminated in Bithumb announcing a 4% interest rate, only to perform a u-turn just 6 hours later.

Since this flurry of interest rate-related activity, platforms have slowly begun reducing their rates.

At the end of June this year, Upbit was offering 2.1%. Bithumb was offering 2.2%, with Coinone offeing 2.0%, Korbit 2.1%, and GOPAX setting rates of just 1.3%.

However, even GOPAX’s rate was still considerably higher than most commercial banks’ standard 1% account interest rates.

Interest Rates on Their Way Down?

Platforms have since begun responding to the Bank of Korea’s decision to cut base interest rates. Korbit lowered its usage fee rate to 1.9% this month. Coinone has also announced its decision to cut its rate to 1.77% starting next month.

A Financial Supervisory Service spokesperson said the regulator wants to “create a standard for calculating interest payments that does not “undermine competitive order.”

Heo, meanwhile, claimed that while the act provides a “safety net” for users, too much capital is still “concentrated in certain exchanges.”

These comments come after accusations that Upbit has been allowed to create a de facto monopoly in the exchange scene, commanding over 60% of the market share. The lawmaker said:

“We will continue to improve the system to protect users and establish a sound and competitive environment.”

Crypto Journalist

Amin Ayan

Crypto Journalist

Amin Ayan

About Author

Amin Ayan is a crypto journalist with over four years of experience in the industry. He has contributed to leading publications such as Cryptonews, Investing.com, 99Bitcoins, and 24/7 Wall St. He has…

Share

Last updated: 

July 25, 2025

An Arizona-based TikTok influencer has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for her role in a North Korean plot to infiltrate the U.S. tech workforce and fund the regime’s weapons program.

Christina Marie Chapman, who gained popularity online for her freelance lifestyle content, was convicted in Washington, D.C. on charges of wire fraud conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering.

In addition to prison time, Chapman was ordered to forfeit over $284,000 and pay restitution of $176,850. She will also serve three years of supervised release.

TikToker Ran ‘Laptop Farm’ to Help North Korean IT Workers Pose as US Employees

According to prosecutors, Chapman operated a “laptop farm” from her home, allowing North Korean IT workers to remotely access U.S.-based networks while appearing to be physically located inside the country.

Between 2020 and her arrest, she helped operatives obtain remote roles at more than 300 American companies, including Fortune 500 firms, a major television network, and a leading aerospace manufacturer.

“Even an adversary as sophisticated as the North Korean government can’t succeed without the assistance of willing U.S. citizens like Christina Chapman,” said Roman Rozhavsky, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.

US authorities say North Korea has built a global network of IT operatives who use fake identities and proxy networks to secure jobs and channel funds to the regime.

Chapman’s activities helped facilitate these efforts by setting up U.S.-based internet access, laundering wages through personal bank accounts, and shipping laptops overseas, including multiple devices sent to a Chinese city near North Korea.

Investigators seized more than 90 laptops from her residence and discovered she had sent 49 more abroad.

The wages earned by the North Korean agents were misreported to the US tax and social security agencies under stolen or borrowed American identities.

The crypto sector remains a key target in this operation. According to Chainalysis, North Korean-linked hackers stole $1.34 billion in cryptocurrency in 2024 alone, up 21% from the previous year.

Cybersecurity experts say North Korean job seekers are increasingly sophisticated, often hiring European actors to front video interviews while using VPNs and proxy IPs to conceal their locations.

North Korea Linked to Major Crypto Hacks

North Korea has also been linked to several other major crypto heists, including those targeting Bybit, the Ronin Bridge, Harmony, and various DeFi platforms.

Global law enforcement is responding. The U.S. Department of Justice recently moved to seize over $7.7 million in digital assets tied to North Korean IT workers embedded in blockchain firms.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and South Korea signed a bilateral agreement in 2023 to enhance their technical capabilities in detecting and countering DPRK cyber operations.

North Korean cyber strategies continue to evolve. In April, Lazarus-linked operatives reportedly set up US-based shell companies to distribute malware to crypto developers.

Kraken recently thwarted an infiltration attempt by a suspected North Korean posing as a job candidate.