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Chinese cryptocurrency journalist and blogger Colin Wu has shared a summary of a report about the massive success of XRP investors in South Korea. Last year, more than 70% of them made profits on this and two other top cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Arman ShirinyanBitcoin ETFs ensure new BTC investor inflow
The report reveals that, last year, the count of new investors in the South Korean crypto market totaled roughly 33%. Those newcomers who held crypto for less than six months were affected by Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election. Those who have held longer – from half a year to a year – were inspired by the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024.
Currently, investors in the Korean market are waiting to see what further steps the U.S. government will take regarding Bitcoin - whether it will introduce any crypto-friendly policies. Donald Trump has already signed an executive order to create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR). However, no immediate purchases are expected to follow for now since the government already holds almost 200,000 Bitcoins confiscated from various illegal activities, including infamous darkweb marketplace Silk Road.
Besides, the U.S. has a crypto stockpile, which includes various altcoins the U.S. government bets on. They might be sold, depending on the investment strategy, while the government intends to hold the Bitcoin in the SBR for years to come.
Yuri MolchanXRP, BTC, ETH's role for Korean investors
XRP is at the top of the list of holdings by South Korean investors; it sits in second place, with XRP constituting 16.44% of the investor portfolio. Bitcoin is in first place with 21.31%. This list also includes ETH, DOGE, SOL, SHIB and PEPE, with 7.75%, 6.59%, 4.04%, 1.69% and 2.36% of the portfolio, respectively. Bitcoin’s leadership here is likely due to spot Bitcoin ETFs, the report says.
The crypto platforms that were most frequently used by South Koreans in 2024 are Binance and Upbit, while they used mostly Telegram and YouTube to obtain information on crypto.
In 2025, DOGE and many other meme coins were listed on another popular South Koren exchange, Bithumb. According to the report, approximately 75% of crypto investors in the country expect the Bitcoin price to demonstrate a bullish trend in 2025 and expect BTC to surpass the 150 million WON price level - the equivalent of $102,000.
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin