The newly instituted martial Law in South Korea has forced selloffs in the broader crypto market
In a shocking turn of events, South Korea’s crypto market has sharply declined after the country’s President, Yoon Suk-yeol, declared emergency martial law on Tuesday, according to CNN.
The president claimed this move was a response to protect the country’s borders. This emergency development has sent shockwaves through global financial markets and raised significant concerns within the crypto world.
South Korea’s Crypto Markets Plunge Amid Unexpected Declaration
Earlier today, President Yoon justified the imposed martial Law as a necessity to protect South Korea from “threats from North Korea’s communist forces.
He also mentioned that it is to eliminate “anti-state elements.” The announcement sparked swift reactions from the public and the financial market, particularly the volatile crypto sector.
Notably, South Korea has not declared an emergency martial law since 1980, which only made Yoon’s statement even more serious. Martial law in South Korea means direct military control over civilian government functions.
As President Yoon’s announcement spread across the nation, markets reacted quickly. Cryptocurrencies, previously stable, experienced significant declines across all major exchanges.
Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone, the country’s biggest exchanges, witnessed sharp drops in the value of digital assets. Bitcoin BTC $105 728 24h volatility: 0.7% Market cap: $2.10 T Vol. 24h: $16.67 B alone saw a steep 12% decline on Upbit, while Tether’s USDT $1.00 24h volatility: 0.0% Market cap: $155.47 B Vol. 24h: $29.60 B plummeted to a notable low of 1,200 Korean won (KRW), a drastic dip of around 84 cents.
Altcoins were not spared from the downturn either. Popular tokens, including XRP, Shiba Inu SHIB $0.000012 24h volatility: 0.7% Market cap: $7.11 B Vol. 24h: $108.04 M , and Dogecoin DOGE $0.18 24h volatility: 0.5% Market cap: $26.37 B Vol. 24h: $726.52 M , suffered double-digit losses. Since South Korea controls a large XRP market liquidity, the coin took a sharp 7.7% fall to $2.499 according to CoinMarketCap. In all, the panic selling contributed to the sense of unease in the digital currency market.
The Upbit Market Index, which tracks the performance of the exchange’s top 30 tokens by market cap, fell by 13.28% in just one day. This signaled how deeply the South Korea martial law announcement had shaken crypto investor confidence.
Upbit’s Trading App Crashes Amid Surge in User Activity
After the martial law declaration, the Upbit mobile trading app became inaccessible, likely due to an overwhelming surge in traffic. Eagerly reacting to the sudden market downturn, traders flooded the app to withdraw.
However, the technical infrastructure could not handle the influx, leaving many users frustrated and unable to execute trades in real time. The crash intensified the tension as users rushed to safeguard their investments or seize market opportunities.
The sharp drop in crypto prices on South Korea’s major exchanges reflects a global trend influenced by geopolitical tensions and government actions. Given crypto markets’ sensitivity to news and global events, volatility is expected to persist, especially in politically unstable regions.
For now, the fate of the South Korean crypto market hangs in the balance as the government maintains its military-backed control. It is unclear if martial law will calm or worsen tensions, but the market’s reaction has already been decisive.
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