South Korea investors shift from U.S. big tech to crypto-related stocks

South Korean individual investors in overseas markets are shifting away from U.S. big tech shares toward cryptocurrency-related stocks, especially those tied to stablecoins, according to Yonhap News. The Korea Center for International Finance said in an Aug. 11 report that the passage of the U.S. Genius Act has fueled crypto investment centered on the stablecoin theme. The share of crypto-related stocks among the top 50 net purchases by individual investors climbed from 8.5% in January to 36.5% in June and 31.4% in July. In June, Circle Internet, issuer of USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market cap, ranked first in net purchases. In July, five of the top ten net buys were crypto exchanges such as Coinbase or Ethereum-holding firms like Bitmine.