[South Korea's Cryptocurrency Trading Volume Shrinks to One-Tenth of Stock Index KOSPI] BlockBeats News, May 27, according to South Korean media outlet 'Digital Asset,' the domestic cryptocurrency trading volume in South Korea has shrunk to approximately one-tenth of the trading volume of the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI). This is primarily due to the cryptocurrency market crash in October 2025 and the continuous record highs in the South Korean stock market, which significantly widened the trading volume gap between the two markets. Based on an analysis by 'Digital Asset' of the trading volumes of South Korea's five major KRW cryptocurrency trading platforms (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, Gopax) and KOSPI, as of May 26, the ratio of KRW market trading volume to KOSPI trading volume was only 8%. This ratio had reached as high as 323% in December 2024, when Donald Trump was elected President of the United States and announced plans to establish the U.S. as the "Digital Asset Capital," causing a sharp surge in the cryptocurrency market, with trading volumes far exceeding those of the stock market. The market downturn began in the second half of last year. In August 2025, the ratio was 99%, with the two markets nearly equal. However, the cryptocurrency market plummeted in October due to a large-scale futures liquidation event, while KOSPI continued to hit new highs driven by the semiconductor industry's boom and government policies to boost the stock market. Compared to August 2025, the KRW market trading volume decreased by 71% in May 2026, while KOSPI trading volume surged by 243%. Compared to the global market, South Korea's market also appears weak. The Bitcoin "Kimchi Premium" indicator, which reflects domestic and international market activity, has shown negative values for consecutive days. According to CryptoQuant data, this indicator turned negative in March, briefly returned to positive in April, and then turned negative again. A negative indicator means that the price of Bitcoin in South Korea is lower than overseas, indicating weak buying activity in the market. [Original Link]