解讀韓國加密貨幣市場：FOMO、Meme 幣和“泡菜溢價”

近期，隨著XRP等「古董幣」的激增，「韓國大媽衝進加密市場」的消息再次在社區流傳。

With the recent surge of "antique coins" like XRP, news of "Korean aunties rushing into the crypto market" has resurfaced in the community. Meanwhile, the trading volume of related tokens like XRP and APT on Korean exchanges such as Upbit and Bithumb has even surpassed that of Binance at times. This indicates that the trading volume from just the Korean market for these tokens is on par with the total trading volume from the rest of the world combined.

近期隨著XRP等「古董幣」的熱潮，「韓國大媽湧入加密市場」的消息在社區重新浮現。同時，XRP、APT等相關代幣在Upbit、Bithumb等韓國交易所的交易量甚至一度超過了幣安。這顯示僅韓國市場的這些代幣交易量就與世界其他地區的總交易量相當。

For a long time, the crypto community has viewed listing on Upbit as a significant boon for projects. After a token is listed on these Korean exchanges, its price often skyrockets in a short period. This strong buying power has piqued global curiosity about the "kimchi premium." How exactly does the Korean cryptocurrency market operate? What kind of speculation logic do investors here have?

長期以來，加密社群一直將在 Upbit 上上市視為專案的重大福音。代幣在韓國這些交易所上市後，其價格往往會在短時間內飆升。這種強大的購買力激起了全球對「泡菜溢價」的好奇。韓國加密貨幣市場到底是如何運作的？這裡的投資人有什麼樣的炒作邏輯？

Rhythm interviewed Andy, a member of Frax Finance who has been engaged in crypto development and education in Korea for many years, to delve into the investment logic and real situation of the Korean crypto market.

Rhythm 採訪了在韓國從事加密貨幣開發和教育多年的 Frax Finance 成員 Andy，深入探討韓國加密貨幣市場的投資邏輯和真實情況。

Koreans' "Another Stock Market"

韓國人的“另一個股市”

BlockBeats: You have a very strong presence in the Korean market, such as large-scale buying. How do people enter the cryptocurrency market, and how do they choose their coins?

BlockBeats：你們在韓國市場的影響力非常強，例如大規模購買。人們如何進入加密貨幣市場，如何選擇自己的貨幣？

Andy: Frankly speaking, this is still a puzzle that everyone is trying to solve. One thing I am sure of is that DeFi is quite weak here because the deposit and withdrawal processes on trading platforms are very convenient. I am a Canadian citizen and have lived in Korea for 10 years. In the early days, I could trade on Upbit and Bithumb, and I remember it took me only five minutes to open a bank account and connect it to Upbit or Bithumb, easily trading and withdrawing in Korean won.

Andy：坦白說，這仍然是大家都在努力解決的難題。我確信的一件事是，DeFi在這裡相當薄弱，因為交易平台上的存款和提款過程非常方便。我是加拿大公民，在韓國生活了 10 年。早期，我可以在Upbit和Bithumb上進行交易，我記得我只花了五分鐘就開設了銀行帳戶並連接到Upbit或Bithumb，輕鬆地以韓元進行交易和提現。

So in Korea, it is very easy for people to enter the crypto market and invest; it is not difficult, although everyone must open an account at a specific bank. Secondly, I think the act of trading cryptocurrencies carries a sense of "hope" among Korean investors, especially among the younger demographic aged 20 to 30.

所以在韓國，人們很容易進入加密貨幣市場並進行投資；這並不難，儘管每個人都必須在特定的銀行開設帳戶。其次，我認為交易加密貨幣的行為對韓國投資者，尤其是20至30歲的年輕人來說，充滿了「希望」感。

Moreover, the media in Korea is discussing this topic. You can see that people from their 20s to 60s or even 70s are participating in the crypto market. I don't know if you've heard, but the front of Bithumb's office was once crowded with elderly people aged 50 to 70 trying to open accounts, especially when the new bull market started.

此外，韓國媒體也在討論這個話題。你可以看到20多歲到60多歲甚至70多歲的人都在參與加密貨幣市場。我不知道你有沒有聽說過，Bithumb的辦公室門前曾經擠滿了50歲到70歲的老人試圖開戶，尤其是在新牛市開始的時候。

BlockBeats: Was this happening in the last bull market or this one?

BlockBeats：這種情況是發生在上一次多頭市場還是這次？

Andy: This is happening in this bull market, just in the last week or two; it has been reported in the news.

Andy：這個牛市就發生了這種情況，就在最後一兩週；新聞對此進行了報道。

Retired people aged 50 to 70 were queuing to open accounts, and the line even reached over 3,000 people; it was really crazy. Mainstream media and social networks are also discussing the secondary market for cryptocurrencies. Although mainstream media often tends to portray its dangers, more and more people are starting to pay attention as Bitcoin hits historical highs.

50歲至70歲的退休人士排隊辦理開戶，排隊人數甚至達到3,000多人；這真的很瘋狂。主流媒體和社群網路也在討論加密貨幣的二級市場。儘管主流媒體往往傾向於描繪其危險，但隨著比特幣觸及歷史高點，越來越多的人開始關注。

According to media reports, a nearly 60-year-old housewife said while queuing to open an account: "It feels wasteful to keep retirement funds in a bank account, so I tried investing in Bitcoin and Dogecoin"; image source from the internet.

根據媒體報道，一位年近60歲的家庭主婦在排隊開戶時表示：「把退休金存在銀行帳戶感覺很浪費，所以我嘗試投資比特幣和狗狗幣」；圖片來源自網路。

Back to the younger crowd, I think many people in their early 20s see this as a chance similar to buying a lottery ticket. I don't want to say it's gambling, but they do see cryptocurrencies as a way to make quick money because the media reports they encounter often highlight how some people made a lot of money through cryptocurrencies, which is more appealing than news about losses. Many people in their 30s tend to be a bit more strategic, trying to understand the projects behind the tokens. However, even so, many of my friends still buy tokens first and then ask in the community what the project is, so most people don't really understand the true situation of the projects.

回到年輕族群，我想很多20歲出頭的人都認為這是一個類似買彩券的機會。我不想說這是賭博，但他們確實將加密貨幣視為一種快速賺錢的方式，因為他們遇到的媒體報導經常強調一些人如何透過加密貨幣賺了很多錢，這比虧損的新聞更有吸引力。許多30多歲的人往往更具策略性，試圖了解代幣背後的專案。然而即便如此，很多朋友還是先買代幣，然後在社區裡問這個專案是什麼，所以大多數人並不能真正了解專案的真實情況。

This mindset may stem from a strong FOMO, which is also quite common in Korean culture; the trend-following culture in Korea is very extreme. Whether in entertainment or investment, many people feel that if they don't participate, they will fall behind the trend, even feeling disconnected from the entire culture. So if you don't know what you're investing in, it might be due to the fear of missing out on opportunities or friends suggesting you get involved.

這種心態可能源自於強烈的 FOMO，這在韓國文化中也很常見；韓國的潮流文化非常極端。無論是娛樂還是投資，很多人都覺得如果不參與，就會落後於潮流，甚至感覺與整個文化脫節。因此，如果您不知道自己要投資什麼，可能是因為害怕錯過機會或擔心朋友建議您參與其中。

Having lived in Canada, where everything is relatively laid-back, I never felt the pressure to chase trends. But after coming to Korea, I felt the prevalence of a fast-paced lifestyle, such as needing to graduate, serve in the military, get married, find a job, and invest by a certain age. So when the people around you are trading cryptocurrencies on Upbit or B

在加拿大生活，一切都比較悠閒，我從來沒有感受到追逐潮流的壓力。但來韓國後，我感受到快節奏的生活方式盛行，到了一定年紀就需要畢業、服兵役、結婚、找工作、投資等。所以當你周圍的人在Upbit或B上交易加密貨幣時