Korean individual investors drive cryptocurrency's ascent as a primary asset, moving away from Tesla
- Korean retail investors shifted $657M from Tesla to crypto firms in August 2025, marking the largest outflow since 2019. - Tesla's 13% delivery drop and Musk's political tensions drove $554M outflow via the 2x Tesla ETF, the largest since 2024. - Crypto firms like Coinbase and Bitmine absorbed $1.2B in inflows, fueled by Ethereum holdings and leveraged ETF demand. - South Korea's 20% crypto ownership and regulatory reforms amplified global crypto adoption, boosting U.S. exchanges and mining firms. - Inst
In August 2025, Korean retail investors withdrew $657 million from
This shift comes after Tesla’s performance faltered, with global deliveries dropping 13%-13.5% year-over-year in Q2 2025 and a 14% plunge in share price in a single day, partly due to political friction between Elon Musk and former U.S. President Donald Trump Tesla Sees Korean Retail Exodus as Investors Turn to Crypto [ 4 ]. Experts point to worries over Musk’s unpredictable leadership, postponed product rollouts, and mounting competition from Chinese automakers like BYD and XPeng, both of which posted record sales South Korean Investors Sell $657M in Tesla Stock As They Move to Crypto [ 5 ]. At the same time, crypto companies gained momentum as investors sought to capitalize on new opportunities, such as upcoming token listings on platforms like
Among these moves, Korean investors put $426 million into Bitmine Immersion Technologies, a company with a sizable
This reallocation of capital has increased South Korea’s impact on the global cryptocurrency market. With digital asset ownership reaching 20% of the population—and climbing to 25%-27% among those aged 20-50—Korean retail investors are reshaping liquidity for U.S. exchanges and mining companies How South Korea’s Bet on Crypto Is Reshaping Global Market Trends [ 9 ]. For example, Bitmine’s share price jumped 15.47% after Peter Thiel acquired a 9.1% stake in the company, which holds $500 million in Ethereum Peter Thiel Bets Big on Ethereum With $500M-Backed BitMine Stake [ 10 ]. Such institutional support further strengthens confidence in Ethereum’s role in staking and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
The global ramifications of this trend are substantial. South Korean capital flows are accelerating the rise of crypto infrastructure companies as alternative investment vehicles, with analysts forecasting ongoing growth in institutional investment in digital assets Implications of the Changing Investment Structure [ 11 ]. As traditional sectors face increasing uncertainty, this shift highlights the mainstreaming of crypto as a core asset class, with Korean retail investors at the forefront. This momentum may further spur innovation in tokenized finance and alter global capital allocation patterns.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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