High-leverage trading in South Korea's semiconductor sector has clearly cooled off. In June and July, the daily trading volume of SK Hynix-related 2x leverage ETFs peaked at nearly 650 million to 800 million units. Since entering August, it has consistently stayed below 100 million units, shrinking by over 90%. Recently, Bloomberg Industry Research grouped single-stock leverage ETFs related to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix for analysis. The weekly trading volume of these products once reached as high as $55 billion, but since August, it has dropped to just a fraction of its peak. One notable feature of South Korea's semiconductor trading over the past few months was the heavy participation of retail investors using both margin financing and 2x single-stock leverage ETFs. The same principal amount was repeatedly cycled through buying the rally, stop-losses, closing positions, and re-entering trades. This $55 billion trading volume reflects how aggressive the trading frequency and leverage usage had become at the time. Single-stock leverage ETFs must adjust their exposure back to the target multiple daily. This means market-making and hedging activities also adjust the positions of related stocks and derivatives. When prices rise, buying pressure increases; when prices fall, selling pressure increases. Combined with the margin requirements of financing accounts, the short-term volatility of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix was further amplified. In June, forced liquidations due to insufficient margin in South Korea reached nearly 1 trillion KRW. In July, it was close to another 1 trillion KRW. By early August, the margin financing balance in the South Korean market still stood at 27.4 trillion KRW. Two consecutive months of forced liquidations have cleared out some of the highest-leverage positions. While the remaining margin financing scale is still significant, the frequent high-leverage trading and rapid turnover around Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have significantly decreased. @Gate Crypto, US stocks, Hong Kong stocks, Korean stocks, gold, CFDs, prediction markets—all in one platform.