Asian Traders Liquidate $9.4 Billion in Leveraged Chip ETFs, KOSPI Drops 30% into Bear Market
South Korean retail traders triggered a sell-side trading halt after the KOSPI fell 5% Friday, following a sharp regional selloff that saw investors unwind leveraged chip and AI stock bets at the fastest pace in years. The sell-off extended to Taiwan and China, where retail traders liquidated leveraged positions at their quickest rates since April 2025 and the 2015–2016 market crash, respectively. Over the past two months, South Korean retail investors alone have poured 14 trillion won, or $9.4 billion, into single-stock leveraged exchange-traded funds.
The unwinding has plunged South Korea’s benchmark index more than 30% below its June peak, officially entering bear market territory. Samsung and SK Hynix fell roughly 4.3% and 4.2% on Friday, dragging down markets after reports raised new doubts about AI infrastructure spending. The market stress has pushed quantitative hedge funds in China to their steepest drawdowns in over a week, highlighting the cross-border contagion from the concentrated leverage buildup in Asian tech equities.
From the sources (25 posts)
@cryptorover🚨 SOUTH KOREA'S STOCK MARKET IS SITTING ON A $25 BILLION TIME BOMB. Retail investors in South Korea have borrowed a record 38 trillion won ($25.2B) to buy stocks. That's far above the previous peak of 24 trillion won during the 2021 marke
@globalmktobserv‼️SOUTH KOREAN RETAIL INVESTORS' MARGIN DEBT IS HITTING RECORD LEVELS: Loans on margin account balances are up to a record ~38 trillion won, or ~$25.2 billion, doubling since the start of 2025. TAP IMAGE TO SEE FULL INSIGHT👇
@globalmktobserv🚨South Korea leveraged ETF BUBBLE is BURSTING: Korea's single-stock leveraged ETFs' assets under management have nearly halved by -$5 billion to ~$6 billion, erasing almost all gains since their launch in May. TAP IMAGE TO SEE FULL INSIGH
@tradfi*SEOUL STOCK MARKET'S KOSPI FALLS 4%
@firstsquawkSEOUL'S KOSPI PLUNGES 4%
@barchartSouth Korea Stock Market volatility hits highest level in history, surpassing the Global Financial Crisis 🚨🚨
@firstsquawkSeoul stocks open lower on chip rout, escalating Iran tensions - YONHAP
@bulltheoryioOver ₩213,800,000,000,000 ($144 BILLION) has been wiped out from the South Korean stock market as the KOSPI fell -3.5%. KOSPI has crashed -30% from its peak, officially entering a bear market.
@firstsquawkSeoul's KOSPI Index Drops 4% Amid Market Selloff.
@globalmktobservRT @GlobalMktObserv: ⚠️WHAT A CHART: The 3x leveraged long South Korea ETF, $KORU, listed in the US is down -71% since its June peak. Thi…
@businessSouth Korea’s most closely watched stock-market innovation is morphing into a headache for President Lee Jae Myung.
@barchartBREAKING 🚨: South Korea Timberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr again 📉 📉
@negligible_cap*KOREA EXCHANGE ACTIVATES SIDECAR TO HALT KOSPI PROGRAM SELLING Death, taxes, and the Kospi sidecar
@bulltheoryioBREAKING: Korea Exchange activates the sell-side sidecar after the KOSPI crashed -5%. Program selling has been suspended for 5 minutes.
@cryptorover🚨 SOMETHING IS BREAKING IN SOUTH KOREA. KOSPI is down -5% right now, wiping out ₩260 trillion from its market cap. A sell side sidecar has also been triggered. Korean market volatility also hit its highest level in history, surpassing
@firstsquawkKorean Shares Slide Further as Heavy Losses Hit Leveraged AI Investments.
@macroedgeresKorea Exchange activated the sell-side sidecar after the KOSPI fell 5% #MacroEdge
@barchartSouth Korean Stocks now down more than 4% 📉📉 It's getting worse 🤯
@globalmktobserv🔴SOUTH KOREA MARKET IS TRADING AS IF THERE IS A FINANCIAL CRISIS: The 30-day KOSPI index volatility spiked to 82 points, an all-time high. TAP IMAGE TO SEE FULL INSIGHT👇
@firstsquawkKOSPI Plunges 5.1%, Marking Sharp Decline in Seoul Shares.
@cnbc'Give me my money back': South Korean traders' leveraged SK Hynix, Samsung bets unravel after selloff
@businessTaiwan’s retail investors unwound their leveraged stock bets at the fastest pace since April 2025 on Friday, helping drive the local equity market into a technical correction
@businessChinese stock traders unwound leveraged positions at the fastest pace since the 2015–2016 market crash on Friday, as fears that the AI-driven rally had become overstretched triggered a global equities rout
@reutersFrom Breakingviews - Breakingviews - Seoul AI ETF howler morphs into zombie volatility
@firstsquawkSouth Korea's KOSPI Ends Session Down 4.5%