Over the Chuseok holiday period, when local markets were on pause, South Korean investors made bold moves overseas. Between October 3 and 9, they funneled roughly $1.24 billion into U.S. tech equities and crypto-exposed assets, leaning heavily on leveraged instruments and high-growth plays. This surge highlights their appetite for returns beyond domestic boundaries during a typically quiet trading window.
With local exchanges shuttered for the holiday, many market participants turned outward, seeking gains in global tech and crypto-linked equities. The most striking activity was in leveraged ETFs: the Direxion Daily Tesla Bull 2X fund stood out with approximately $151 million in net inflows. Supplementary allocations flowed into core names like Tesla itself (around $96 million), Meta, and crypto miners.
On the crypto-investment front, the leveraged ETF T-REX 2X Long BMNR—designed to mirror the performance of bitcoin-mining firms—garnered about $95 million. Another notable move was a $105 million placement into Iris Energy, an Australian firm focused on bitcoin mining operations.
A bold strategy while domestic markets slumber
These strategic allocations markedly raised the overseas exposure of Korean investors during a period of global strength in U.S. tech. However, the momentum proved fragile: escalating U.S.–China trade tensions triggered a broader market pullback shortly thereafter, erasing part of the gains from the holiday surge.
This episode underscores both the aggressive risk tolerance and nimbleness of South Korean investors who reallocate capital during domestic market holidays. Simultaneously, it illustrates how quickly macro shocks can reverse even well-timed, high-conviction positions.
