[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong (홍진주)] The KOSPI fell more than 8 percent intraday and triggered a circuit breaker, but volumes at Upbit, South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, rose only slightly, data showed. There are signs some attention flowed into the crypto market after the stock shock, but analysts said it is still hard to say stock investment funds have moved in earnest into coins.

On July 14 (local time), blockchain media outlet CryptoSlate reported that Upbit's bitcoin trading volume rose right after the KOSPI's plunge but did not reach its recent average trading level.

The Korea Exchange said the KOSPI fell 8.22 percent from the previous day's level during the session, triggering a first-stage circuit breaker. Under Korea Exchange rules, if the KOSPI drops 8 percent or more from the previous close within 1 minute, all stock trading is halted for 20 minutes.

The decline spread across the broader market as higher international oil prices, driven by renewed tensions in the Middle East, coincided with steep falls in large semiconductor stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

Upbit trading increased somewhat after the stock shock. Bitcoin volume rose to 8,379 BTC on July 13 from 7,436 BTC on July 12, and stood at 8,724 BTC on July 14. The day-on-day increases were 12.67 percent and 4.12 percent, respectively.

But the absolute trading scale remained below usual levels. The 30-day average volume was 12,014 BTC, making the July 14 volume about 27 percent lower than the average. Compared with the recent high of 20,506 BTC recorded on June 26, volume stayed about 57 percent lower.

CryptoSlate assessed that while volume did rise, it is hard to view it as entering a new trading phase. Trading did not fully shrink, but it also did not recover to recent average levels or show a trend that far exceeded them.

The market is also focusing on the fact that the stock shock occurred in a high-leverage environment. Data from the Korea Financial Investment Association cited by Yonhap News Agency showed the combined daily average outstanding balances of margin loans and stock-secured loans totalled 61.98 trillion won in the second quarter. That was up from 57.42 trillion won in the first quarter and the highest level since related statistics began.

Some point out that Upbit volume alone makes it difficult to judge whether funds moved out of stocks. If stock investment funds had moved into the crypto market, they said volume increases would need to go beyond a temporary rebound and continue for several trading days above the average. They also said exchange volumes alone make it hard to distinguish whether inflows came from existing crypto investors or stock investors.

The market 분위기 is to interpret the rise in volume as a short-term expansion of interest tied to the stock market's sharp fall. Analysts said that even though the KOSPI was hit hard enough to trigger a circuit breaker, Upbit volume rose only in a limited way, making it too early to conclude domestic investors' funds have moved in earnest into the cryptocurrency market.