South Korean Investors Shift Focus to Crypto-Linked Stocks Amid Big Tech Decline

According to Cointelegraph, South Korean retail investors are increasingly turning their attention from U.S. Big Tech stocks to high-risk, high-reward crypto-linked equities. Data from the Korean Center for International Finance (KCIF) reveals a significant rise in the percentage of crypto-linked stocks among the top 50 net-bought stocks by South Korean investors, climbing from 8.5% in January to 36.5% in June, before slightly decreasing to 31.5% in July. This shift coincides with a notable drop in net purchases of major U.S. Big Tech companies, which fell to $260 million in July, marking an 84% decrease from the monthly average of $1.68 billion recorded between January and April. The KCIF attributes this trend to the growing acceptance of stablecoins in global financial markets, further influenced by the recent passage of the United States GENIUS Act. Among the beneficiaries of this shift is BitMine Immersion Technologies, an Ether-stacking company that has seen substantial investment from South Korean traders. A Bloomberg report, citing data from the Korea Securities Depository, highlights that South Korean retail investors have invested $259 million into BitMine stocks since the beginning of July, making it the most-purchased overseas security stock in the country for that month. BitMine has significantly increased its ETH holdings by 410.68% to 833,100 ETH over the past 30 days, establishing itself as the holder of the world's largest Ether stack. As ETH surged past $4,300 on Monday, the value of BitMine's holdings rose to nearly $3.6 billion, reflecting a 24% increase from their previous valuation. Meanwhile, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has expressed support for public companies acquiring ETH but cautioned against the risks of excessive leverage. In a Bankless podcast, Buterin warned that the "downfall of ETH" could occur if treasuries become "an overleveraged game," potentially leading to a chain reaction of liquidations in the event of an ETH price drop. Despite these concerns, Buterin remains optimistic about the discipline of ETH investors, believing they are capable of avoiding such scenarios. His insights come amid discussions on how Ethereum treasury companies could potentially ignite a new wave of decentralized finance, dubbed 'DeFi Summer 2.0.'