#cryptonews
South Korea witnessed a record $34.2 billion in cryptocurrency trading volume over 24 hours following a brief declaration of emergency martial law by President Yoon Suk-yeol.
The unusual trade activity unfolded across the country’s major cryptocurrency exchanges, including Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax, according to CoinMarketCap data. Leading the surge was Upbit, South Korea’s largest exchange, which processed $27.25 billion alone.Leading the s
Notably, this marked the highest single-day trading volume of the year, as reported by local crypto outlet Digital Asset. The spike in trading activity came amid political turmoil. Late Tuesday night, President Yoon declared martial law, citing threats to democracy from “anti-state” forces allegedly tied to the opposition left-wing party.
The overall volume nearly doubled the $18 billion recorded just a day prior, a figure that had already made headlines for eclipsing the daily turnover of the local stock market.
Other cryptocurrencies also experienced significant price declines, while exchanges grappled with service outages due to the surge in activity.
Bitcoin’s price on Upbit dropped to 88 million won ($62,182) at one point, as reported by News1.
The emergency measures, which lasted six hours, triggered panic among South Korean traders, leading to widespread sell-offs on local exchanges.
The latest decision, announced earlier this month, will push the tax implementation to 2025, following an agreement between the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) during budget negotiations.
A recent survey has revealed that most young South Koreans are losing faith in the national pension system, with many stating they see crypto and stocks as a better alternative.