If you think the 2022 Terra/Luna crash left a lasting scar on the Korean crypto community, you are wrong. With the Bitcoin (BTC) bull market in full swing, Koreans are once again diving headfirst into buying up the small-cap cryptocurrency.
Trading volume on Upbit, South Korea's largest exchange, accounts for more than 70% of the country's total trading volume and has increased 11 times since the November 5 US presidential election, won by pro-crypto candidate Donald Trump. It is said that the amount has rapidly increased to $14.3 billion. To data source Coingecko.
Driving this extraordinary volume increase are XRP, Dogecoin (DOGE), and other small-cap tokens, indicating a resurgence of retail investor mania.
For example, the DOGE/KRW pair, which represents the price of Dogecoin in Korean Won, was the most traded pair on Upbit for a total of 10 days, according to 10x Research. The XRP/KRW pair topped the chart six times, and the XLM/KRW pair was the most traded pair in the past 24 hours, accounting for 19% of Sunday's total volume.
The three tokens have soared 164%, 188%, and 463%, respectively, this month, but are still below their respective all-time highs set in 2021. Meanwhile, market leader Bitcoin is trading near lifetime highs of $100,000, or nearly 40%. Price increases, according to CoinDesk data.
“Since Trump’s election on November 5th, Bitcoin’s dominance as the most traded virtual currency has been replaced by altcoins such as Doge, Ripple, Stellar, etc. 19% market share, #1 trading coin) These are +100%. , and simply monitoring changes in these activities should yield a lot of alpha, but as we have often pointed out,” says founder Markus Thielen. . 10x Research said in a note to clients on Monday.
South Koreans' love for cheaper plays is now extending to other crypto market sectors, including Metaverse tokens like SAND, which is seeing its first meaningful rally in three years.
At the time of writing, the 24-hour trading volume of the SAND/KRW pair listed on Upbit was $2 billion, representing 14% of the exchange's total trading volume of $14.1 billion.
The SAND token has risen more than 200% this month to 76 cents, but is still well below its November 2021 high of $8.49. Traders should keep an eye on the surge in Metaverse and gaming tokens, as the last time these assets rose signaled the peak of the bull market in late 2021.
