South Korea's "Ant Army" goes overseas: During the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, $1.24 billion flooded in, heavily betting on TSL and high-risk encryption products!

During the Chuseok holiday in South Korea (October 3 to 9, 2025), when the domestic market is closed, South Korean retail investors transferred approximately $1.24 billion to overseas markets. This wave of investment primarily flowed into high-risk, leveraged products and encryption-related assets, demonstrating the strong desire of South Korean investors for quick returns, which has not waned even as global markets show signs of weakness. Among them, the Direxion Daily Tesla Bull 2X ETF received inflows of $151 million, while the Bitcoin mining company Iris Energy attracted $105 million, highlighting the concentrated bets on technology and digital assets.

Holiday Investment Boom: Funds Focus on High-Risk Overseas Assets

Korean investors have shown a high level of investment enthusiasm and a unique risk preference during the market closure in their local market.

· Overseas investment surges

According to data from the Korea Securities Depository, when the local market is inactive, investors made large-scale overseas purchases. A total of $1.24 billion in funds flowed into the global market.

· High-risk products lead the way

The investor's preferred choice is the Direxion Daily Tesla Bull 2X ETF, which amplifies Tesla's daily stock price movements and has attracted $151 million in inflows. Additionally, another leveraged product, the T-REX 2X Long BMNR Daily Target ETF, has also received $95 million in inflows.

· Encryption and tech stocks are in high demand.

The field related to digital assets has attracted a large amount of funding:

• Australian Bitcoin mining company Iris Energy attracted $105 million in purchases.
• Meta Platforms follows closely with an inflow of 100 million dollars.
• Tesla's direct stock purchases also reached 96 million dollars.

The Risk Appetite and Structural Drivers of “Ant Army”

South Korean retail traders, commonly known as “Ant Army,” are famous for their active and risk-driven investment approach.

· Preference for leverage and high volatility

These investment models show a preference for leveraged and highly volatile products over traditional long-term holdings. Although many investors suffered significant losses in the leveraged Tesla ETF, which plummeted over 80% earlier in 2025, the strong inflow into similar products during the Mid-Autumn Festival reflects their continued interest in amplified trading opportunities.

· Cultural and structural factors

This behavior is driven by multiple factors:

• A strong desire for rapid financial growth.
• Relatively limited local market returns.
• The convenience offered by mobile trading applications and ultra-fast internet.
• Social media and online forums often fuel “fear of missing out” (FOMO).

Regulatory Outlook and Market Position: Digital Assets Remain the Focus

Although the domestic encryption market in South Korea has cooled down in the first half of this year, its global position and regulatory support indicate that there will still be a lot of activity in the future.

· Large holdings of digital assets

From January to June 2025, the value of local digital assets in South Korea declined by approximately $24 billion, and daily trading volume sharply decreased. However, more than 16 million South Koreans still hold digital assets, with a total holding amount of about $70 billion. South Korea remains the second largest cryptocurrency purchasing market in the world, after the United States.

· Positive signals from regulators

The new government under President Lee Jae-myung has expressed support for friendly regulation of encryption. The plan to legalize cryptocurrency ETFs and allow institutional participation may further encourage investor activity in this field.

· The contrast between overseas investment and the domestic market

This Mid-Autumn investment coincides with a weak global market. After the reopening of the Korean market, the Kospi index first rose to a record 3610 points, then fell by 1.7% the next day. Nevertheless, analysts observed that even as the local market reached new highs, Korean retail investors were still seeking overseas opportunities, considering them to be more attractive.

Conclusion

During the Mid-Autumn holiday, the surge of overseas investments reaching $1.24 billion once again proves the steadfast commitment of South Korean retail investors to fast, high-risk trading models. Their concentrated focus on leveraged technology and encryption products highlights the unique risk culture in the South Korean market and confidence in emerging asset classes. As the regulatory environment moves towards being crypto-friendly and the possibility of institutional participation increases, it is expected that South Korean investors' activity in the digital asset space will continue, bringing sustained liquidity and volatility to the global market.

This article is for news information only and does not constitute any investment advice. The encryption market is highly volatile, and investors should make cautious decisions.