Blockstack's STX Token Doubles in a Day, as South Korean Retail Traders Look at Altcoins

Stacks token (STX), the cryptocurrency of decentralized computing platform Blockstack, doubled in value in less than 24 hours after it became available to trade on South Korea-based cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, reflecting increased interest in alternative cryptocurrencies from retail traders in the East Asian country.

• At press time, stacks' changing hands at $2.19, up 88% in the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinGecko.
• The total market capitalization of Stacks rose to around $2.4 billion.
• The latest price jump of Stacks came after it was listed on South Korea-based crypto exchange Upbit with a STX/KRW pair.
• There's been an increased interest in so-called alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins) in South Korea, after bitcoin's price topped at $61,556.59 in mid-March.
• Arthur Cheong, founder and portfolio manager at DeFi-focused crypto fund DeFiance Capital, told CoinDesk that more "unsophisticated retail" traders, especially those in South Korea, are returning to the crypto market and looking at altcoins for their potential lucrative returns, evidenced by the spot trading volume of altcoins on South Korean crypto exchanges.
• Jason Lau, chief operating officer at San Francisco-based crypto exchange OKCoin, also noticed the staking program offered at OKCoin for Stacks tokens has helped increase interest among investors in STX.
• OKCoin's "STX holders are discovering and being comfortable with stacking – locking STX in order to earn bitcoin," Lau said. "With bitcoin consistently charting new all time highs, the appeal of earning yield in bitcoin is alluring to many."
• About 65% of Stacks token holders on OKCoin have locked up their STX for six months, according to Lau, a potentially bullish sign for Stacks token.
• The majority of the trading volume of stacks is on Binance, the biggest crypto exchange by trading volume.
• By press time, Binance did not immediately respond to CoinDesk's requests for comment on STX's performance.

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