Korea's Crypto Assets Market Welcomes Explosive Rise

In July, the South Korean virtual asset market experienced a wave of "volume and price rise" explosive market conditions. As of 8 PM on July 24, the daily trading volume of South Korea's largest Crypto Assets exchange exceeded $10.2 billion, with a rise of 94.5%; the second-largest exchange also saw a surge, with a daily trading volume exceeding $3.2 billion, and a rise of 61.5%.

Behind this wave of frenzied market activity, the underlying market liquidity has quietly accumulated. According to data, from July 13 to 19, the trading volume of stablecoins on the five major cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea reached 2.226 trillion won (approximately $1.62 billion).

The trading enthusiasm of South Korean investors began to emerge on July 11. On that day, the price of the XRP token rose from $2.60 to $3.00 within a few hours, with a total net buying pressure of 45 million XRP in the spot market, 70% of which came from the largest exchange in South Korea. This rise was almost entirely driven by South Korean buyers.

XRP is one of the most favored virtual assets among Korean investors, with about 15% of global trading volume coming from the country. On July 18, XRP broke through the $3.6 mark, reaching a new high in six months. As of July 24, the price of XRP is around $3.16, with a 24-hour trading volume of $2.28 billion on the largest exchange in Korea, firmly maintaining its position as the platform's hottest asset.

On July 23, the "AI-native" full-stack blockchain platform Sahara AI's SAHARA token sparked a second wave of excitement. SAHARA's single-day peak increase reached 86%, ranking third in transaction volume on the spot market of a certain exchange. As of 8 PM on July 24, its trading volume in the past 24 hours reached 2.3 billion USD, with nearly half of the spot trading coming from two major exchanges in South Korea.

After the price of the SAHARA token retraced, the Newton Protocol's NEWT token took over and rose. As of 8 PM on July 24, the NEWT increased by over 70% in 24 hours, with a trading volume of 1.78 billion USD, of which over 60% came from the two major exchanges in South Korea, highlighting the concentration and explosive power of retail investors in South Korea.

In addition to the above tokens, South Korean investors also drove the rise of several altcoins such as Hyperlane, Babylon, HUMA, LISTA, and MERL.

Against the backdrop of Bitcoin reaching a historic high, Ethereum rebounding, and an increasingly optimized regulatory environment, the pace of new listings on South Korean exchanges has noticeably accelerated. According to reports, as of July 21, the five major virtual asset exchanges in South Korea have listed a total of 229 KRW trading pairs this year, accounting for 85.44% of last year's total. The number of new listings on the two major exchanges this year has already surpassed the total for the entire last year, and it is expected to set a new high in nearly five years.

However, the intense flow of funds and rapid rotations are also accompanied by significant volatility risks. XRP and SAHARA have both seen short-term pullbacks of over 10%, with a concentration of contract liquidations. Analysts warn that during the altcoin craze, the behavior of Korean investors may undergo significant changes, with FOMO sentiment playing an important role in small investments, potentially bringing huge risks to investors.