Just In: South Korea’s Crypto Market Crashes As President Yoon Declares Martial Law

South Korea’s crypto market has experienced a significant crash following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law. This development has caused panic among traders, who have moved to withdraw their funds, while coins like Bitcoin have witnessed significant price declines.

South Korea’s Crypto Market Crashes Following Martial Law Declaration

Onchain analytics platform Lookonchain revealed that South Korea’s crypto market has plummeted following President Yoon’s declaration of martial law. The Bitcoin price crashed by as much as 30% on the Upbit exchange following this development.

Meanwhile, the prices of other coins like XRP, Dogecoin, and XLM also dropped as much as 20%. However, some crypto whales seem unfazed by this development. According to Lookonchain, many whales have transferred large amounts of USDT to the Upbit exchange, likely in an attempt to target bottom-fishing opportunities.

Since the president declared Martial law, over $163 million has flowed into Upbit as these whales look to accumulate these coins at a discount. Thanks to this battle between panic sellers and bottom fishers, Upbit announced that its applications and open API services are currently suspended due to a temporary increase in traffic and are experiencing delays.

President Yoon Declares Martial Law

The crypto market crash occurred as South Korea’s President Yoon declared emergency martial law. According to a CNN report, the president made this declaration while accusing the country’s main opposition party of sympathizing with North Korea and of anti-state activities.

This is the first time since 1980 that the sitting president has declared martial law in the country. However, it is worth mentioning that South Korea’s parliament can vote to lift this martial law declaration.

Meanwhile, amid this development, the country’s Central Bank has announced that it won’t hesitate to provide unlimited liquidity to the markets if needed. This comes days just after the Central Bank cut interest rates to help stimulate the country’s struggling economy.