South Korea’s Martial Law: Impact on the Crypto Market

Bitcoin Price Crash to Year-High Trading Volume

South Korea’s Local Trade after Political Drama 

South Korea’s announcement, and then lifting, of the martial law, created a rollercoaster for both country’s residents and the global crypto market.

Crypto Influence on South Korea and Vice-versa

South Korea has a population of 51.7 million people, over 15% of which is known to be registered on crypto exchanges, thereby driving crypto adoption. As a consequence, the political decision shifts first brought a drop in the crypto market, and later saw it bloom with heavy trading activities in the country.

Impact on the Market

Several South Korean crypto exchanges have undergone increased trade as the political drama unfolded and took a U-turn. Local spot crypto exchanges such as Upbit and Bithumb collectively witnessed a day’s trading volume of $34.2 billion that is worth 49 trillion Korean Won. Upbit alone processed $27.25 billion.    

The stats are double of the trading volume that existed a day before. It not just crossed the local stock market value, but also surpassed several levels to reach a new high.

As per South Korea’s local news media outlet Digital Assets, it’s been the year 2024’s highest single-day trade volume.

While the market saw Bitcoin price crashing by 30% on Upbit after the initial announcement of military rule, altcoins like XRP also followed the same. Despite the military rule scare, the situation started turning good after some time, and the crypto whales started pumping money on the exchange to buy even at the dip. The trading volume hence increased.

Bottom Line

The Martial Law declaration in the East Asian country was its first in 50 years, and shocked the citizens and the global authorities equally. Its announcement and reversal both have together influenced the crypto market immensely. The incidents reflect upon the volatile and uncertain nature of the world’s cryptocurrency market.