Cryptocurrency trading in South Korea rose sharply again as the local stock market plunged. Cointelegraph reported on July 30 that Upbit’s won-tether trading volume rose to nearly 140 million USDT, close to 200 billion won, on July 29. That was up 600 percent from 20 million USDT on July 25.

The KOSPI fell about 18 percent this week due to selling in semiconductor stocks. Investors were seen as seeking defensive tools in a falling market or aiming for additional trading opportunities.

Brokerage firms cited the possibility that funds leaving the stock market moved into cryptocurrencies. They also mentioned growing demand to trade derivatives linked to South Korean stocks on overseas cryptocurrency exchanges. They additionally raised the possibility that demand increased to move funds to overseas exchanges or personal wallets to trade perpetual stock futures.

There have been previous cases in which KOSPI volatility spurred cryptocurrency trading. Upbit also saw trading volume rise noticeably on the 14th, when the KOSPI fell 10 percent in a single day.

Bitcoin showed a relatively resilient trend compared with the plunge in semiconductor stocks. Andre Dragosch (안드레 드라고슈), head of European research at Bitwise, said that after semiconductor stocks hit a peak in late June, bitcoin prices were virtually flat. That means the steep drop in semiconductor stocks did not spread to bitcoin.

Bitwise said in a report earlier this week that bitcoin posted more pronounced outperformance than U.S. mega-cap stocks. Bitcoin maintained relative strength versus the Magnificent Seven and SpaceX, and Bitwise viewed this as a possible early signal suggesting future easing of central bank monetary policy.