South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol unexpectedly announced martial law late at night yesterday (3rd). Although it lasted only 6 hours before being revoked due to opposition from the National Assembly, the panic caused by this so-called 'shortest' political farce led to local cryptocurrency trading volume soaring to over $35 billion in a single day, setting a new record for the year.
According to data from CoinMarketCap, as of the time of writing, the total trading volume of South Korea's major cryptocurrency exchanges Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax reached $39.49 billion in the past 24 hours. Among them, South Korea's largest exchange Upbit alone handled a trading volume of up to $28.54 billion.
South Korea's cryptocurrency trading volume nearly doubled within 24 hours, far exceeding the $18 billion recorded on December 2, setting a new highest daily record for the year.
Behind the surge in trading volume is a sudden shock in South Korea's political arena. President Yoon Suk-yeol announced martial law late Tuesday night, citing the need to eliminate pro-North Korean forces and protect the free constitutional system.
The sudden martial law not only triggered market panic but also led a large number of South Korean investors to rush to local exchanges to sell off cryptocurrencies, causing Bitcoin's price to once drop to 88 million Korean Won (about $62,182) on Upbit. The prices of other mainstream cryptocurrencies on South Korean exchanges also saw a significant decline, and trading platforms experienced multiple system outages due to surging trading volume.
Fortunately, the South Korean National Assembly immediately mobilized to hold a meeting, where all 190 attending members voted to lift the martial law. Subsequently, Yoon Suk-yeol officially announced the lifting of martial law at 5 a.m. However, the political risk did not dissipate; after the 6-hour martial law ended, several opposition parties led by the Democratic Party jointly submitted an impeachment motion against Yoon Suk-yeol. Local constitutional regulations state that the impeachment motion must be voted on within 72 hours, with results expected before December 7.
On the other hand, data from the decentralized prediction market platform Polymarket showed that bettors once estimated a 78% chance that Yoon Suk-yeol would step down within this year, before falling back to 47%. According to the normal term, Yoon Suk-yeol's presidency is set to end in May 2027.
"Martial law ends in 6 hours! South Korea's daily cryptocurrency trading volume exceeds $35 billion" was first published by (Block Business).