Elderly people in South Korea began to use their retirement funds to buy cryptocurrencies, and their bank deposit balances plummeted or flowed to the currency market and U.S. stocks.

According to a report by the Korean media outlet The Herald Business, with the US stock market and Cryptocurrency market continuing to rise after the re-election of former US President Donald Trump, the so-called "Trump effect" has shaken the emotions of Korean investors. In the banking sector, demand deposits, known as "standby funds," have evaporated 27 trillion won (about $19 billion) in just five months. To pursue investment returns, funds have flowed from safe assets to risky assets, triggering a large-scale "capital movement." A 50-year-old woman named Kim said: "The Cryptocurrency market is so hot now, I feel this is another opportunity, and I don't want to become a 'bankrupt' again." According to data from the financial sector on Wednesday, as of the end of November, the balance of demand deposits at the five major commercial banks in South Korea was 592.669 trillion won, a decrease of more than 5 trillion won compared to the end of the previous month, and a decrease of 26.9477 trillion won compared to the end of June, which is the lowest since the end of January this year. The main factors accelerating the outflow of deposit funds are the continued rise in the Cryptocurrency market and the US stock market after Trump's election. As of Wednesday morning, the Bitcoin price reached $95,981, and Bitcoin alone rose about 40% in November. The rise in Bitcoin (BTC) has also driven the recovery of Altcoins, with the representative Altcoin XRP soaring more than 400% after Trump's victory, from around $0.51 to the current $2.75, and Hashed, a Korean Cryptocurrency venture capital firm, has also mentioned the crazy speculation of Korean investors on XRP. A person related to a Cryptocurrency exchange said that in the past, it took some time for a Bitcoin bull market to drive Altcoins, but this time the "Trump effect" has shortened this time. Koreans aged 50 to 60+ return to the coin market with retirement funds According to reports, in this context, some Koreans aged 50 to 60+ are beginning to use the Cryptocurrency bull market to seek to increase their retirement savings, drawing on experiences from some extreme cases of large Cryptocurrency gains in 2021, such as people quitting their jobs or buying houses after making huge Cryptocurrency profits. Recently, there have been more and more stories online about "an employee of a major company who quit his job after making 10 billion won through Cryptocurrency investment." A 58-year-old woman named Kim said: "I tried to invest in Bitcoin and Dogecoin because I felt it was a pity to just keep my retirement funds in a bank account." Although she is very afraid of the big ups and downs in Cryptocurrency prices, she plans to invest gradually in a fixed investment manner. Data obtained by South Korean Congressman Ahn Do-geol from the Financial Supervisory Service shows that as of the end of September, the number of customer accounts aged 60 and above at the largest and second-largest Cryptocurrency exchanges Upbit and Bithumb had reached 775,718, with a total Cryptocurrency holding of 6.76 trillion won (about $48 billion). The average investment amount per person. Furthermore, the average investment amount of Koreans over 60 is about 8.72 million won (about $6,213), the highest among all age groups. The average investment amount for those in their 20s and below is about 980,000 won (about $698), for those in their 30s is 2.98 million won (about $2,123), for those in their 40s is 5.26 million won (about $3,748), and for those in their 50s is 7.72 million won (about $5,501). The growth trend of middle-aged and elderly investors newly entering the Cryptocurrency market is also very significant. Among Upbit and Bithumb exchanges, the number of customer accounts aged 60 and above increased by 30.4% (an increase of 180,834) compared to the end of 2021. During the same period, the number of accounts for those in their 50s also increased by 22.5%. In contrast, the number of accounts for those in their 20s decreased by 6.4%, and the increase for those in their 30s was only 8.3%. A banking industry insider said that the phenomenon of funds flowing from banks to the Cryptocurrency market and the US stock market does exist, and predicted that this phenomenon may further accelerate with interest rate cuts.