Data: South Korea's AI token trading share rose to 18.7% in May

As artificial intelligence hype permeates the cryptocurrency space, risk-loving South Korean traders are making a big push into digital assets related to the AI ​​theme, according to Golden Finance. South Korean AI tokens’ share of global weekly trading volume rose to 18.7% in May from a low of 0.6% in mid-2023, according to Kaiko data. Such tokens are often issued by early-stage projects seeking to deploy Blockchain technology to AI services—a combination whose utility has yet to be proven. Studies show that many South Koreans are fascinated by both AI and cryptocurrencies. About 10% of the population has been exposed to tokens, and less volatile tokens (rather than market leaders Bitcoin and Ethereum) make up the bulk of local trading. Kaiko said weekly trading volume for AI tokens has averaged $8 billion since February, up from an all-time low of $300 million in mid-2023. Meanwhile, data from the Korea Securities Depository showed that Nvidia Corp. and Microsoft Corp. ranked second and third, respectively, among the most popular overseas stocks among domestic investors this year.