South Korea’s short-lived military rule leads to a record $34 billion in crypto trade in the country

Over the past 24 hours, South Korean crypto exchanges have recorded a trading volume of more than $34 billion. This occurred during the period in which the president of the country declared emergency martial law, which was subsequently lifted.

The president of South Korea declared emergency martial law, which lasted for six hours, and local spot cryptocurrency exchanges experienced a record trade volume of over $34 billion in the past 24 hours.

In the 24 hours preceding 10:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday, the combined crypto trading volume of South Korean exchanges Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax was $34.2 billion, as per data from CoinMarketCap. Upbit, the largest exchange in South Korea, alone processed $27.25 billion in cryptocurrency.

The $18 billion recorded on Dec. 2 was nearly doubled in the 24-hour trading volume, which had already garnered attention for surpassing the daily volume of the local stock market. Digital Asset, a local cryptocurrency news outlet, reported that Tuesday’s transaction volume was the highest single-day total of the year.

The country’s president, Yoon Suk-yeol, proclaimed emergency martial law late Tuesday night in order to safeguard the nation from political threats posed by “anti-state” forces that are targeting the opposition left-wing political party. Consequently, the volume of crypto trading increased.

According to News1, a local news agency, the price of bitcoin on Upbit plummeted to 88 million won ($62,182) at one point as South Korean traders raced to sell their crypto on local exchanges. The price of the majority of other cryptocurrencies on prominent South Korean exchanges also decreased, and the platforms encountered service outages as a result of the surge in activity.

As a result of President Yoon’s decision to suspend martial law enforcement six hours after the declaration, prices have since stabilized. Legislators who were present at an emergency meeting at 1 a.m. on Wednesday unanimously voted against the martial law.

The opposition party in South Korea reportedly proclaimed on Wednesday morning that it will file treason charges against President Yoon, the Minister of Defense, and the Minister of the Interior and Safety, in addition to advocating for their impeachment.

In the meantime, the odds of a half-million-dollar wager on whether President Yoon would depart office this year increased to 78% on the decentralized prediction market platform Polymarket earlier today, before reversing to 47%. We anticipate that Yoon’s presidency will conclude in May 2027, provided that she fulfills her obligations.

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