Is only Korean retail traders keeping Ethereum finance company alive?

As Ethereum continues to underperform against Bitcoin, debates have rekindled about what supports its assets and who is truly behind its demand.

About $6 billion in South Korea’s retail capital currently supports so-called Ethereum government bonds, and companies are accumulating ETH as a balance sheet asset, reflecting microStrategy’s Bitcoin strategy. Mou made the claim in a post to X on October 5th, claiming that “people with ETH influence” were flying to Seoul to open court to retail traders chasing their next “strategic strategy.”

As of October 6th, ETH has fallen by about 1.9% over the past 24 hours, and has fallen by about 5% against Bitcoin over the past month, according to CoinMarketCap. Mow suggested that this weakness reveals how short-term retail enthusiasm supports Ethereum’s reputation, not systematic belief.

According to strategic ETH reserve data, 67 entities, including BitMine and SharpLink, hold a total of approximately 5.49 million ETH (approximately $25 billion), or 4.5% of total supply.

Mous said much of the exposure was from private South Korean investors known locally as Sohak Gemi, who argued that they had poured around $6 billion into the Ethereum Treasury Company. He argued that promoters were marketing these companies as “the next MicroStrategy” and seducing traders who want something that’s easily similar to Bitcoin’s corporate accumulation strategy.

“We believe that many of these investors have absolutely no knowledge of ETH/BTC charts and are buying the next strategic trade.”

He warned that enthusiasm based on “financial literacy” could backfire, particularly as Ethereum continues to lag behind Bitcoin in its relative performance.

Ethereum’s price performance reflects concerns. Despite regular influx and new narrative boosts, ETH remains below its record high of $4,946 and continues to fall against Bitcoin. The ETH/BTC ratio has fallen by more than 5% over the past year, reinforcing the perception that much of Ethereum’s market capitalization support is narrative-driven, rather than based on basic growth or institutional introduction.

Mou’s criticism coincides with comments from Andrew Kang, co-founder of Mechanism Capital, which also raises questions about the financial logic behind Ethereum-based government bonds. Kang cited projects like Tom Lee’s Bitmine as an example of the “undisciplined financial model” that lacks the financial structure found in successful Bitcoin holders. “Ethereum’s technical is bearish,” Kang said, adding that ETH’s long-term range could remain between $1,000 and $4,800 without any major changes in fundamentals.

Kang compared its speculative momentum to XRP’s historic rise and concluded that Ethereum’s valuation was “mainly due to financial literacy.” He argued that retail hype could maintain a large market capitalization for some time, but it is not a permanent foundation, saying, “the valuation amounts that can be obtained from a lack of financial literacy are not endless.”

Whether South Korea’s retail demand will become a new structural pillar for Ethereum or the final gasp of the disappearing story may depend on how long the ETH Ministry of Finance’s story can surpass the charts.

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