South Korean retail traders are cashing out their Tesla stocks, with most of them choosing to put those funds in different digital assets. While the global economy looks to be adjusting and dealing with the effects of the tariffs announced by United States President Donald Trump, local investors in the country are clinging to Tesla shares, pouring millions into it.
However, South Korean investors are now dumping the asset, with about $657 million worth of the shares already dumped in August. This is the biggest monthly outflow recorded since early 2023. Once among Tesla’s most loyal global backers, they are now heading into riskier bets. This includes pulling shares of BitMine Immersion Technologies Inc., a U.S. firm that’s become a proxy for Ethereum. However, the firm stock saw net inflows of $253 million from South Korean retail traders.
South Korean retail traders move funds from Tesla
The shift in the traders’ mood shows a drop in belief in Tesla’s AI promises and growing appetite for higher-octane bets. Meanwhile, South Korean investors’ buying sprees had amplified Tesla’s rallies through the pandemic boom, but now they are looking at other assets. According to the report, a 33-year-old investor who first bought Tesla shares in 2019 sold out this year to chase newer plays. He mentioned that the company “has failed to lead with its own AI narrative.”
Tesla’s share price is up by more than 17% over the last 6 months, but it is still trailing by 12% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis. This suggests that the EV making giant saw a massive pump at the beginning of the year; however, it wasn’t able to keep up the momentum. Tesla’s share price dipped by 1.45% in the last trading session to trade at $333.86. The timing isn’t accidental, as Ethereum has outperformed Bitcoin lately.
According to records, Ethereum-linked ETFs are pulling in more money than Bitcoin for the first time. They recorded inflows of about $1.5 billion in a single week compared to Bitcoin’s $244 million. ETH price is running up by 28% over the last 30 days and 69% over the last 60 days. On the other hand, Bitcoin price dropped by 3.6% and 2% in the same period. The massive spike in ETH buying led to the biggest altcoin to hit above $4,900, marking its fresh all-time high (ATH).
ETH is trading at an average price of $4,471 at the press time. Its 24-hour trading volume surged by 43% to stand at $31 billion. BitMine (BMNR) is already doubling down on the frenzy. Since launching an Ethereum treasury strategy in June, it has bagged 1.79 million ETH (approx. worth $8 billion). This makes it the world’s largest Ethereum corporate holder and the second-largest crypto treasury overall, behind only MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin stash.
BitMine also recorded a spike in its share price, rising by more than 520% on a YTD basis, while it ran up by 707% over the last 6 months. BMNR price dipped by 16% in the last 5 trading days as the crypto market printed red indexes all around. The share closed trading at $43.62 in the last trading session.
