South Korean retail investors abandon coins and exchange shares: SK Hynix (SKHY.US) ETF trading volume exceeds 7 times that of the top five crypto firms

According to Woofun AI, there are significant signs of capital migration in the Korean capital market. The average daily trading volume of KODEX SK Hynix (SKHY.US) single-share leveraged ETF has exceeded 7 times the total trading volume of the five major Korean cryptocurrency exchanges, marking a structural reversal in investor preferences.

This difference in magnitude was particularly prominent in the statistical cycle from July 1 to 27, 2025. This ETF product, issued by Samsung Asset Management, aims to track twice the daily fluctuation of the KRX SK Hynix (SKHY.US) Index, with an average daily transaction volume of up to 4.5383 trillion won (about US$3.3 billion).

According to data compiled by Woofun AI, there is a stark contrast between the five mainstream exchanges Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax, which covered 18 ETF trading days during the same period, with an average daily total transaction volume of only about 65.3 billion won (473 million US dollars).

The underlying reason lies in the double squeeze of macroeconomic industry dividends and the regulatory environment. SK Hynix (SKHY.US), as the main supplier of HBM (high-bandwidth memory), the core component of the NVDA.US (NVDA.US) AI accelerator, is highly sought after in the global AI boom. At the same time, the “Virtual Asset User Protection Law” implemented in July 2024 greatly raised the threshold for exchange listing and information disclosure, compounding the impact of long-term market downturn and scandals, weakening retail confidence in crypto assets. In contrast, regulated leveraged ETFs provide investment channels with both transparency and yield amplification effects, and naturally absorb speculative capital seeking a sense of security.

This phenomenon revealed a fundamental shift in retail capital flows in Asia's fourth-largest economy. Funds are being systematically transferred from high-risk cryptocurrency speculation to themed stock products driven by AI and advanced manufacturing. The huge trading volume gap between KODEX SK Hynix (SKHY.US) leveraged ETF and crypto exchanges is not only a reflection of SK Hynix (SKHY.US)'s position in the industry, but also a key weather vane for judging the reallocation of assets by Korean retail investors in a strict regulatory environment.