Metaverse is causing a stir in South Korea over a slew of ETFs

Fans of Metaverse stocks are discovering that South Korea is an Asian market to bet on technology, with a plethora of exchange traded products and stocks.

Korean Metaverse-focused ETFs, many of which were recently listed, have posted double-digit gains this month, outperforming Kospi's 0.3% decline. According to the data, apart from the popular US-listed Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF, most other vehicles focused on the concept are listed in South Korea.

Prices of the Mirae Asset Tiger Fn Metaverse ETF, the country's largest by market value, the Samsung Kodex K-Metaverse Active ETF, the NH-Amundi HANARO K-Metaverse MZ ETF and the KBSTAR iSelect Metaverse ETF have all jumped at least 24% since launching on 13 October. " South Korea is the world's fastest-growing metaverse ETF market, with assets hitting $100 million in just two weeks," said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Rebecca Sin. "Flows are driven by retail demand and this trend could continue in the region, followed by Australia and Taiwan."

Metaworld, which combines both virtual and augmented reality, became a buzzword for markets after Facebook Inc. was renamed Meta Platforms Inc. in late October to emphasise the shift in focus on the concept. This has led to a boom in everything from US exchange-linked ETFs and Taiwanese vendors to Chinese virtual reality stocks, as investors try to get a piece of the market that is estimated to grow to $800 billion by 2024.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, Korean meta-universe ETFs have attracted cumulative inflows of $278 million this year, with much of it coming in the last week. BI's Shin said the assets of these funds could exceed $600 million by the end of this year, with 90% of the record flows coming from retail investors.

"The meta-universe theme has been clearly visible to Korean video game publishers in this recent reporting season," Morgan Stanley analyst Seion Park wrote. The brokerage upgraded NCSoft Corp. to surplus on Tuesday, bringing its rating to Pearl Abyss Corp.

According to Pak, publishers who can use tokens to earn money and non-interchangeable tokens "to improve gameplay will be the beneficiaries". Shares of NCSoft and Pearl Abyss, as seen in reports from Vietnam-based Exness đăng Nhập - Exness-Vietnam.Asia rose 16% and 36% respectively in November. NCSoft is preparing to release a new title based on non-interchangeable tokens, while Korean search company Naver Corporation, the operator of the meta-universe application, is in talks with SoftBank Group Corpto to raise funds.