South Korean martial law catapults crypto trading volume to new record high with $34b

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As a seasoned analyst with extensive experience in global financial markets, I must say that the recent events unfolding in South Korea have proven to be quite intriguing and, at times, perplexing. The implementation of martial law has undeniably stirred up a whirlwind of political unrest, which, in turn, has had a substantial impact on the cryptocurrency market.

Following the enforcement of martial law in South Korea, the nation’s leading five cryptocurrency exchanges collectively reported a staggering 24-hour trading volume exceeding $34 billion, achieving an all-time high.

Based on information from CoinMarketCap, the total crypto spot trading volume from Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax combined was approximately $34.2 billion during the previous 24 hours, as of 10:30 am EST.

After hitting a new record of $18 billion in trading volume on December 2, South Korea’s trading activity experienced a significant increase of almost 50%. This surge in activity outpaced the country’s stock market volumes by 22%, and it is believed to have been sparked by the nationwide unrest that followed President Yoon Suk-yeol’s imposition of an emergency curfew under martial law. The martial law was lifted six hours later.

Based on reports from News1, a popular local media source, there was a sudden flurry of South Korean traders selling their cryptocurrencies on domestic platforms, leading to a significant drop in prices to approximately 88 million won per unit. The intense surge in trading activity even led some exchanges to encounter temporary site outages.

Today, South Korea’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, accounted for the largest share of global crypto spot trading, handling transactions valued at approximately $27.25 billion. Following closely behind was Bithumb, which facilitated over $6.14 billion worth of trades in the past 24 hours.

During the previous day, the cryptocurrency exchange Coinone recorded a trading volume exceeding $531 million. This was seconded by Korbit with approximately $192 million in crypto trades and Gopax almost reaching $9 million.

On December 3, midnight (Korean Standard Time), martial law was enforced in South Korea. Public demonstrations were prohibited, and the media was subjected to government oversight. The nation’s parliament and political parties were barred from engaging in activities that might contradict this law.

As a researcher, I’ve observed that President Yoon declared a state of emergency under martial law, asserting it as a preventive measure against potential threats from North Korea’s communist forces and to eradicate anti-state elements within our borders. However, there are whispers suggesting this decision might be an extreme measure aimed at counteracting the mounting domestic pressure that could potentially lead to his impeachment.

What impact did the South Korean martial law have on the crypto market?

Immediately following the implementation of martial law, protests sparked up in South Korea. Throngs of South Korean citizens flocked towards the fortified parliament building to voice their disapproval, following accusations from politicians that Yoon’s move was both unlawful and against the constitution.

As reported by the BBC, videos captured at the location depicted protesters clashing with the police near the entrance. In fact, officials had to hurdle barriers just to get into the voting area and override the military rule, as per the report.

According to crypto.news’ earlier reports, cryptocurrency prices in South Korea dropped simultaneously with the value of the South Korean won. The price of Bitcoin (BTC) sank to approximately 88 million won, which is its lowest point since October 5. Similarly, Ethereum (ETH) also reached a new low, falling down to about 4.2 million won.

Concurrently, these other cryptocurrencies such as Ripple (XRP), Stellar Lumens (XLM), and Solana (SOL) experienced a substantial drop in value by more than ten percent.

The significant decrease in cryptocurrency values can be attributed to a surge of investors quickly offloading their holdings amidst the political unrest. This type of selling spree was also observed following the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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2024-12-04 11:12