Bitcoin Is Now Calmer Than South Korea’s AI-Driven Stock Market

Bitcoin (BTC) posted lower return volatility than South Korea's benchmark stock index this year, Bloomberg data shows. A national stock gauge just out-swung crypto's most-watched asset.

By comparison, the KOSPI's daily returns swung 63% from their average pace this year. Bitcoin's swung just 48%. Two chipmakers integral to the South Korean market are driving the gap.

Two Stocks Steer an Entire Index

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix supply the memory chips powering the AI boom. Their shares have surged so fast that the pair now make up more than half the KOSPI's weight. Listed affiliates push that share even higher.

That concentration turns Korea's benchmark into a leveraged AI bet. In turn, it ties the market's mood to Wall Street sentiment. When the KOSPI closed at a record high in June, more than 650 of its 831 stocks fell, Bloomberg reported.

SK Hynix later lost 27% of its value over three trading days amid concerns about data center spending. It then jumped by Korea's 30% daily limit once sentiment reversed. That mirrors an earlier AI memory stock selloff that hit the chipmaker this month.

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