In South Korea, Tesla no longer embodies the dream of private investors. According to Bloomberg, nearly $ 1.8 billion flew in four months, including 657 million in August, marking the highest reflux since 2019. Behind this disaffection, a discomfort is growing: for lack of a new story around AI or autonomous driving, the manufacturer no longer seduces as much. Result: despite its most detained foreign title status, Korean investors abandon Tesla for bets deemed more dynamic and rapid.
In short
- South Korean private investors turn away from Tesla, with $ 657 million in outings just in August.
- Their interest has moved to actions related to cryptocurrencies, notably Bitmine, Circle and Coinbase.
- This massive switch, between speculation and regulatory framework in changing, consecrates cryptocurrency as a new star in South Korea.
Bitmine and Crypto actions: a new obsession
Tesla loses ground. While his future is played as much on the stock market as well as justice, other titles capture the frenzy: the actions linked to the cryptos. In August, more than $ 253 million flocked to Bitmine Immersion Technologies, considered a proxy of Ethereum. The previous month, 259 million had already been invested in this company, proposing it to the top of foreign purchases.
The movement is not limited to Bitmine. Circle Internet Group and Coinbase also surf this wave, with respective investments of $ 226 and $ 183 million last month. The trend is clear: Korean individuals, formerly fascinated by the American tech giants, are now massively betting on the crypto ecosystem.
The figures speak for themselves. In January, barely 8.5 % of the 50 securities most acquired by the Korean private investors concerned cryptos.
Six months later, this figure jumped at 36.5 %, before falling slightly to 31.4 % in July. As for the year 2025, it already displays more than $ 12 billion invested in this sector. A historic rocking, which reconfigures the global landscape of investment flows.
A mutation made by regulation and speculation
Behind this frenzy, two engines take shape. On the one hand, speculation: cryptos and their derivatives offer quick -earning opportunities that Tesla or Apple no longer offer.
On the other hand, the regulatory environment is evolving. South Korea advances on the stablecoins indexed to the won, strengthening the idea that these assets are no longer a fashion, but an investment class in the process of institutionalization.
However, uncertainty remains. The future president of the Financial Services Commission, Lee Won-Eun, recently recalled that digital assets “have no intrinsic value”, rejecting their integration into retirement accounts. This position illustrates a paradox: while individuals rush to the cryptos, regulators still hesitate to give them full legitimacy.
This tension could shape the coming months. On the one hand, a basis of investors eager for risk, redirecting billions out of Wall Street. On the other, a legal framework which as best they can to follow. However, a certainty emerges: Tesla is no longer the undisputed star in South Korea. The new darling is now betting on flagship cryptocurrencies.
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