'All-in on Virtual Assets' Seohak Ants, Net Purchase of 350 Billion Won in Bitmain in a Month [Crypto Briefing]

[Financial News] Domestic individual investors have been net buying a large amount of overseas stocks related to virtual assets over the past month. In particular, they have focused 350 billion won on Bitmain, a company holding a large amount of Ethereum, placing it at the top of net purchases, and are reorganizing their portfolios targeting the institutional entry of virtual assets.
On the 5th, according to the Korea Securities Depository, domestic individual investors have been expanding their strategic purchases of Ethereum from these companies over the past month. They have purchased shares of Bitmain, a cryptocurrency mining and investment company, worth 255.78 million dollars (about 350 billion won), placing it at the top of net purchase stocks. During the same period, they also net purchased about 100 million dollars and 75.7 million dollars worth of Coinbase (7th place) and Robinhood (12th place) stocks respectively, showing high interest in virtual asset theme stocks.
Bitmain, which was listed on the American New York Stock Exchange (formerly AMEX) last June, is known as the company holding the most Ethereum in the world. Recently, it has gained attention as Tom Lee, a famous 'Bitcoin and Ethereum bull', joined as the chairman of Bitmain's board. Jo Tae-na, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, said, "During July, a total of 11.2 billion dollars of institutional funds flowed into Ethereum-related investment products, indicating that the weight of institutional investors is partially shifting from Bitcoin to Ethereum," adding, "Among them, Bitmain, led by Tom Lee, strategically purchased Ethereum and holds about 566,000 ETH."
The virtual asset trading platform Robinhood is also expanding its size, recording a market cap of 94.5 billion dollars. According to Investing.com, Robinhood's stock price has risen by more than 12% this month. Seohak ants are betting on Robinhood's new business plans. Robinhood is pursuing a business to tokenize and provide U.S. stocks and ETFs to European-based investors. It is gaining attention by linking traditional finance with crypto, such as tokenizing shares of OpenAI, the developer of 'ChatGPT', and serving them to European investors.
Coinbase, the largest virtual asset exchange in the U.S., which surpassed a market cap of 80 billion dollars, is achieving revenue diversification as its dollar stablecoin (USDC) interest income increases in addition to trading fees. It also holds a dominant position by custodian over 80% of the assets of Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs listed in the U.S. Coinbase Custody is the official partner of major virtual asset spot ETF issuers such as BlackRock and Franklin Templeton.
Samsung Securities researcher Hong Jin-hyun analyzed, "Coinbase is transitioning from a virtual asset exchange to an infrastructure company," adding, "USDC interest income and ETF custody are supporting its fundamentals."
Meanwhile, Galaxy Digital, which claims to be the 'Goldman Sachs of the coin world', is rapidly emerging. Galaxy Digital, led by CEO Mike Novogratz, a former Goldman Sachs executive, significantly improved investment accessibility by listing on NASDAQ last May. Galaxy Digital participated as one of the joint lead managers for CoreWeave's IPO and acted as an advisor when Robinhood acquired Bitstamp.
NH Investment & Securities researcher Hong Sung-wook predicted, "As regulatory uncertainties disappear with the passage of the stablecoin bill, institutional participation in the virtual asset market will increase," adding, "Galaxy Digital will benefit from these changes."
elikim@fnnews.com Kim Mi-hee Reporter