During South Korea’s Chuseok holiday week, investors poured $1.24 billion into US tech and crypto assets, including Tesla, Meta, and Bitcoin mining stocks. Leveraged ETFs saw a surge. The buying spree ended abruptly due to US-China trade tensions, causing a global market pullback. Korean retail investors continued aggressive risk-taking during the Thanksgiving break, focusing on leveraged ETFs and high-growth stocks. The Direxion Daily Tesla Bull 2X ETF was the most popular target, with net purchases totaling $151 million. Other top buys included Iris Energy, Meta Platforms, and Tesla shares. The surge in cross-border buying came just before global markets tumbled on US-China trade tensions, erasing part of the gains. Korean retail traders are known for their risk appetite, but it remains to be seen if they will maintain such exposure. The Kospi reopened lower, hinting that the rally may have been short-lived. South Korea’s financial regulator cracked down on risky lending practices in the digital asset sector, suspending all crypto lending services until proper regulations are in place. The country is moving towards regulated crypto adoption, with plans to approve the first spot crypto ETFs and a stablecoin framework pegged to the Korean won. Upbit operator Dunamu unveiled a new custody service for institutional clients, storing digital assets in cold wallets to protect against cyber threats.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: South Koreans Poured $1.24B Into US Tech, Crypto During the Korean Thanksgiving