Upbit Coin Market: Why isn't it rising despite stock market highs?

Coin market loses liquidity to US stock market rally… Upbit’s 'Big 3' fall simultaneously while altcoins see 'rotational trading'

▲ Upbit Market/AI Generated Image ©

While the New York stock market is booming, setting new record highs thanks to easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and strong performance from tech stocks, Upbit, Korea's largest virtual asset exchange, has lost its clear direction and remains in a cold wait-and-see stance.

As of 7:07 AM on the 25th, according to Upbit, the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin is showing weakness, trading at 115,445,000 KRW, down 0.85% from the previous day. Ethereum, the second-largest by market capitalization, also recorded 3,443,000 KRW, down 0.75%, and XRP (Ripple) remained at 2,138 KRW, down 0.05%. It appears that the 'Big 3' leading the virtual asset market have all taken a breather.

As investor sentiment has slowed, trading volume, which indicates market vitality, has also shrunk. According to data from CoinGecko, a global cryptocurrency market data aggregator, Upbit's 24-hour trading volume at the same time plunged by a significant 17.7% from the previous day, settling at approximately 1.35525 billion USD.

However, despite the overall market trading stagnation, some smaller altcoins are experiencing volatile swings. Katana (KAT) surged by an impressive 81.04% to 38.2 KRW in the KRW market, and showed an abnormal surge of 200% in the Bitcoin (BTC) market. In addition, Spark (SPK) and ApeCoin (APE) also surged by 60-80% in the BTC market, showing a typical 'rotational trading' pattern where short-term funds are concentrated in specific assets.

Despite the resurgence of risk asset preference, the virtual asset market has been particularly sluggish because large sums of money have been sucked into the artificial intelligence and semiconductor sectors of the New York stock market like a black hole.

Overnight, the US market saw a relief rally as international oil prices stabilized downwards after news that a Middle East envoy for President Donald Trump would visit Islamabad for a second peace negotiation with Iran. In particular, a strong buying spree, especially in tech stocks, led to Intel surging 24%, its largest single-day gain since 2000, and Nvidia surpassing a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.63% to a new record high. The liquidity that should have flowed into the coin market largely shifted to US semiconductor stocks, which demonstrated immense profitability.

Furthermore, the Department of Justice's investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell concluded, partially resolving uncertainty, but investors' attention is already focused on the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) regular meeting next week. Virtual asset industry experts diagnose, "The coin market is being thoroughly marginalized due to the overwhelming performance of the stock market," adding, "A boring sideways market is likely to continue until clear clues about the timing of interest rate cuts emerge from the FOMC meeting on the 28th-29th, or until profit-taking from the US tech stock rally re-enters the virtual asset market."

*Disclaimer: This article is for investment reference only, and we are not responsible for any investment losses based on it. The content should be interpreted for informational purposes only.*