South Korea’s KOSPI falls 9.99% as SK Hynix, Samsung slide in selloff
Bitcoin hovered near $62,500 as a chip-led rout spread from South Korea across Asian and U.S. tech markets, lifting volatility gauges and weighing on crypto-linked stocks.
South Korea’s KOSPI closed down 9.99% at about 8,204 after Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix each fell more than 12%, triggering a market-wide trading halt and leading a broader retreat in Asian risk assets. The selloff was exacerbated by the index’s heavy concentration in the two chipmakers, high domestic retail leverage, and scrutiny of newly launched leveraged ETFs tied to the stocks. Bitcoin briefly fell below $62,000 before rebounding to around $62,500, still down 4% over 24 hours, as the risk-off move spread through crypto, semiconductor shares and regional equity ETFs. Crypto-linked stocks such as Strategy and Coinbase also fell, while Bitcoin’s 30-day implied volatility index BVIV rose nearly 10% to 46.5 and the VIX climbed 16.5% to 20.0, signaling rising demand for downside protection.
- leveraged ETFs: Exchange-traded funds designed to deliver a multiple of an asset’s daily move, which can magnify both gains and losses.
- implied volatility: A market-based measure of expected future price swings derived from options pricing.
- trading halt: A temporary market suspension triggered to pause trading during extreme price moves.