As the world continues to see high cryptocurrency adoption, South Korean crypto enthusiasts have demonstrated a growing interest in Ripple’s native token, XRP. A report featured on the South Korean media outlet “News 1 Korea” reported that the Generation Z crypto investors in the region prefer Altcoins to other best-performing coins by market value, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).
The reporters revisited data provided by Bithumb Investment that captured Q1 returns that GenZ generated from crypto activities.
Crypto Investors Shifts to Altcoin Investments
According to Bithumb, young adults between the ages of 20 were more aggressive in investing in crypto assets than older investors. The investment report demonstrated that a more significant number of GenZ investors were more interested in altcoin.
Based on Bithumb’s analysis, the GenZ investors invested heavily in altcoins compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum. After reaching out to the altcoin holders in South Korea, the Bithumb team observed that Bitcoin and Ethereum were grouped under the long-term investment, which tends to be a stable investment.
The Bithumb report underlined that Bitcoin and Ether fall under the low volatile crypto asset category. Despite the suitability of Bitcoin and Ether, approximately 82.5% of investors in their early 30s invested in XRP. While 20.7% of the investors owned substantial amounts of other crypto assets.
In a separate study conducted by the Singaporean crypto exchange Bitget to examine the population that engages in crypto activities it was observed that GenZ constitutes half the crypto traders.
GenZ Demostrates Growing Interest in Crypto Investments
The Bitget analysis validates the Bithumb research, which noted that most of the crypto investors in South Korea were in their 30s. Both studies showed that social media influences have encouraged GenZ to invest in crypto assets.
The Bitget team argued that most young adults rely on social media to make informed investment decisions. A recent survey observed that around 80% of the millennials and GenZ sought financial advice on social media sites, including TikTok, YouTube, and Reddit. From the survey, half of the respondents claimed to have gathered helpful investment advice from social media.
Elsewhere, analysts from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) observed that millennials and GenZ owned the top-performing investments in crypto assets.
Despite the high number of XRP investors in South Korea, US regulators have questioned the legality of XRP. An analyst projected that the legal action facing Ripple had affected the XRP 3-year growth rate.
South Korean Regulators Tightens Crypto Regulations
Corresponding to ongoing crypto clampdowns in the US, South Korean regulators have imposed policies to monitor crypto activities. On Tuesday, August 22, the regulators in Cheongju City announced plans to seize a substantial amount of crypto assets from investors who have engaged in tax cheats.
The regulators lamented that 8520 crypto entrepreneurs evaded taxes which could generate revenue to the government totalling to $750 million. At the beginning of August, the chief executive of Bitonic, Jinwook Shin, faced potential action after being accused of stealing funds worth $7.5 million. The South Korean enforcement unit has placed Shin on trial before the preliminary detention.
Notably, the South Korean authority imposed legal measures to prevent crypto-related crimes in the region. In July, South Korea established an interagency investigation department to address crypto crimes.
During the official launch , the authority stated that the new enforcement unit would support the regulators in addressing illicit activities and safeguarding the investor’s interest in the crypto industry.