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

Following the imposition of South Korean martial law, the country’s five major crypto exchanges set a new record by recording a spot trading volume of over $34 billion in the last 24 hours.

According to data from CoinMarketCap, the total crypto spot trading volume of Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax in the last 24 hours reached a volume of $34.2 billion in the 24 hours until 10:30 UTC.

South Korea’s trading volume increased by almost 50% after the country’s trading volume surpassed stock market volumes by 22% on December 2, breaking its previous record of $18 billion. The huge increase is thought to have been triggered by unrest in the country following President Yoon Suk-yeol’s imposition of an emergency curfew through martial law. Martial law was canceled six hours later.

South Korean traders rushed to sell their cryptocurrencies on local exchanges, causing prices to drop to 88 million won, according to local media outlet News1. Some exchanges even experienced site outages due to the massive increase in trading activity.

Upbit, South Korea’s largest exchange, contributed the largest portion of today’s crypto spot trading volume, with $27.25 billion worth of crypto. Bithumb ranked second with spot transaction volume exceeding $6.14 billion in the last 24 hours of trading.

Meanwhile, crypto exchange Coinone accumulated more than $531 million in trading volume in the last 24 hours. This was followed by Korbit with a crypto transaction volume of $192 million and Gopax with a crypto transaction volume of approximately $9 million.

Martial law in South Korea came into effect on December 3 at 23:00 Korean time. Citizens were banned from protesting and the media was brought under government control. The country’s parliament and political groups were prohibited from engaging in activities contrary to the law.

President Yoon decided to enact emergency martial law, claiming it was a necessary measure to protect the country from “the communist forces of North Korea” and “eliminate anti-state elements.” However, many suggested that this was a desperate act to combat domestic pressure that could lead to the President’s impeachment.

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

Shortly after martial law was declared, political unrest broke out in South Korea. Thousands of South Koreans flocked to the heavily guarded parliament building to protest after politicians criticized Yoon’s decision as illegal and unconstitutional.

According to the BBC, footage from the site shows some protesters clashing with police at the gates. Even the organizers had to climb over fences to reach the voting hall so they could cancel the martial law order.

As previously reported by crypto.news, crypto prices in South Korea have fallen along with the South Korean won. Bitcoin (BTC) price has fallen to its lowest level since October 5, around 88 million won. Ethereum (ETH) also reached its lowest level, falling to 4.2 million won.

Meanwhile, other altcoins such as Ripple (XRP), Stellar Lumens (XLM), and Solana (SOL) experienced double-digit price declines.

This apparent drop in crypto prices was due to investors rushing to cash out their assets amid political chaos. Similar sales occurred after the start of the Ukrainian war and the Covid-19 pandemic.