Korea’s Retail Traders Swap Crypto Charts for Nvidia Stock as Upbit Volumes Slide

South Korean retail investors are demonstrating a significant shift in sentiment, moving capital away from volatile digital assets toward AI-linked equities, exemplified by interest in Nvidia stock.

Trading volumes on Upbit, South Korea's largest crypto exchange, have recently dropped by 12.8%, with 24-hour volume recorded at $2.02 billion as of October 31, 2025. This trend was symbolized when attendees at an event featuring Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong displayed stock tickers instead of crypto charts.

Analysts suggest this rotation is not mere apathy but a strategic move by retail traders to align with South Korea's national AI strategy, seeking more stable returns from government-backed industrial upgrades. This focus is reinforced by major corporate actions, such as the Samsung-Nvidia partnership to build an AI megafactory using 50,000 Nvidia GPUs, contrasting sharply with the total cryptocurrency market cap of about $3.8 trillion.

(Source：BeInCrypto)