South Korean Crypto Trading Plunges Amid Stock Sell-Off

- Crypto trading on South Korean exchanges falls below 10 trillion won, reaching a two-year low - Steep declines in KOSDAQ and KOSPI indexes signal broader pullback in retail speculation On July 18, 2026 (UTC), BeInCrypto reported that cryptocurrency trading volumes on South Korean exchanges fell below 10 trillion won amid a sharp stock market downturn, marking the lowest level in two years. Trading activity dropped to approximately $6.7 billion in mid-July, and this move highlighted a significant contraction in retail speculation across both digital assets and equities. This fall in crypto trading volumes occurred alongside a steep sell-off in the local stock markets, as the KOSDAQ index declined 31% and the KOSPI index fell 20% over several weeks. As a result, the data indicate that retail traders pulled back from speculative investments across asset classes and did not shift activity from stocks to cryptocurrencies during the financial downturn. Therefore, the parallel decline in cryptocurrencies and equities signals a significant retrenchment in South Korean retail speculation and marks the lowest point in digital asset trading volume since 2024.