$657M out of Tesla, $12B into crypto: What Korea’s big bet means for global markets

Korean investors dumped Tesla and embraced crypto with $12 billion in inflows. This is reshaping global capital flows and risk.

For years, Korean retail investors have been behind Tesla, contributing significantly to the company’s global stock market surges. However, in August 2025, Korean investors withdrew a whopping $657 million from Tesla stock, the largest monthly outflow in over two years.

The withdrawal of investments extends beyond direct stock investments. Leveraged products linked to Tesla, such as the 2x leveraged exchange-traded fund (ETF), TSLL, saw outflows of $554 million in August 2025, the largest since early 2024.

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