Crypto trading surged on Japan’s Bitflyer on Monday as the Nikkei slid, with the Tokyo-based exchange posting a larger jump in volume than global platforms such as Binance and Coinbase during a sharp selloff in Asian equities.
According to CoinGecko data, Bitflyer’s 24 hour trading volume is up 200% compared to 112% on Coinbase, and 75% on Binance. Activity on Korean exchanges was more muted, with Upbit volumes rising 27.1% and Bithumb up 49.0%.
The surge in Japanese crypto trading coincided with a sharp selloff in regional equities, as Japan’s Nikkei slid alongside declines in Korea and Taiwan amid an unprecedented surge in oil prices. Asian nations, including Japan, are heavily dependent on oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, which has seen disruptions due to the ongoing Iran war.
Japanese traders likely leaned into BTC more aggressively during the equity stress, while Korean flows were weaker.
Price action across regional crypto markets reflected a similar pattern. Data from TradingView shows bitcoin rising about 2.05% against the Japanese yen during Asia trading hours, compared with roughly 1.86% gains against the U.S. dollar and about 1.64% against the Korean won.
The stronger performance in yen terms partly reflects currency moves, as the yen weakened against the dollar, but it also aligns with the surge in activity on Japanese exchanges during the regional equity selloff.
This surge in crypto trading came as equity markets across Asia came under heavy pressure.
Damage was not evenly distributed across the region on the Monday open. South Korea’s Kospi led the declines, tumbling about 8% and triggering a circuit breaker, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell roughly 6.5%. Taiwan’s Taiex also dropped sharply, losing about 4.9%.
The moves rank among the steepest post-pandemic declines for the three markets, though still smaller than the double-digit plunges seen during the global financial crisis and the March 2020 pandemic selloff.
South Korea’s market tends to react more violently to oil shocks because of the country’s heavy reliance on imported energy.
The country consumes roughly 2.5 million barrels of crude per day and imports nearly all of it, with about 70% sourced from the Middle East. The International Energy Agency has described South Korea as “an ‘energy island’ with no interconnections” and one of the most energy-intensive economies in the OECD.
Taiwan faces similar constraints, relying on imported energy for roughly 97% of its supply and nearly all of its crude oil consumption.
Unlike South Korea, however, Taiwan has diversified its crude sourcing in recent years. Middle Eastern oil now accounts for roughly 35% of Taiwan’s imports, down sharply from more than 70% earlier in the past decade, with the United States emerging as a major supplier.
Japan’s market also fell sharply but proved somewhat more resilient. While the country remains heavily dependent on imported energy, the Nikkei includes a broader mix of industrial, financial, and consumer companies, which can moderate volatility compared with the more concentrated technology-heavy indices in South Korea and Taiwan.
That relative resilience may also help explain why crypto trading activity surged on Japanese exchanges such as Bitflyer even as equities declined, with traders repositioning in digital assets while traditional markets across the region sold off.
All eyes now turn to Tuesday’s open in Tokyo, where traders will be watching whether the surge in crypto volumes on Bitflyer and other Japanese exchanges holds or fades as equity markets attempt to stabilize.