Upbit investor stock price surges three-fold amid bullish crypto trading in South Korea

The effects of South Korea’s crypto frenzy seem to be spreading beyond the cryptocurrency market to affect stock prices in the country’s stock exchange.

According to a report by Bloomberg on Wednesday, Hanwha Investment & Securities Co. has seen its stock price almost triple since the start of the year.

Indeed, at the time of writing, Hanwha Investment is trading at 6,550 Korean won per share, which constitutes a 197% stock price gain year-to-date.

This almost-200% share price increase puts Hanwha Investment as the best performing of the companies in the Korea Composite Stock Price Index.

Hanwha Investment’s bullish share price growth is likely tied to the company’s crypto association. The financial investment service provider holds a minority stake in Dunamu — operators of the Upbit cryptocurrency exchange.

Upbit, along with Korbit, Bithumb and Coinone are collectively known as the “big four” crypto exchanges in South Korea, controlling a major share of the country’s cryptocurrency trading activity.

The crypto causality case for Hanwha Investment’s share price increase is also further strengthened by the performance of other Dunamu backers. Both Woori Tech and Kakao Corp have also posted significant stock price gains in recent times.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, South Korean brokerage firm Mirae Asset Daewoo is tipping Kakao stock to increase significantly in 2021 on the back of crypto enthusiasm in the country.

Meanwhile, Dunamu is reportedly mulling a public listing in the United States, which could happen on the Nasdaq. Dunamu’s announcement coincided with Coinbase moving forward with its direct listing on Nasdaq, which triggered renewed enthusiasm for crypto stocks in South Korea.

Upbit’s upsurge in crypto trading activity has also seen its main banker K Bank recover from a tumultuous 2020 while announcing plans for a possible initial public offering in 2022. Massive crypto user onboarding by K Bank for trading on Upbit has seen the bank shake off the $89 million posted in 2019.