South Korea crypto volume hit record $34 billion: Here’s why

• South Korea saw crypto trading volumes spike to $34 billion in 24 hours amid the president’s martial law order.
• The unrest and political chaos catalysed a panic among crypto traders, pushing 24-hour volume to record highs.

South Korea ’s brief martial law order saw the crypto trading volume in the country surge to its highest level ever with over $34 billion traded in 24 hours on Dec. 3.

President Yoon Suk-yeol declared an emergency curfew on Tuesday amid a wave of unrest, spooking traders as martial law came into effect.

This saw the leading cryptocurrency exchanges in the country register a massive surge in spot trading volume. Per market data sampling the top five exchanges in the country, trading volumes rose to more than $34 across Upbit , Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax.

Why the martial law?

President Yoon Suk Yeol said the situation forced him to take that drastic measure of declaring emergency curfew due to the growing “anti-state” stance by the opposition.

He called their actions posing a threat to national security and freedom. Soldiers pouring onto the streets and chaos at parliament as lawmakers scrambled to undo the events with a vote is part of why panic hit traders.

Crypto price reaction

In the brief period that the curfew lasted, traders rushed to sell assets. The panic did not just lead to the significant surge in crypto trading volume, it also impacted the broader cryptocurrency market.

Bitcoin struggled further with the sell-wall below the $100k level and top altcoins shed recent gains. For instance, XRP pared gains from its latest high above $2.80 as prices retreated to lows of $2.40 before posting a slight recovery as of writing. Ethereum price also shed gains from highs above $3,732 to near $3,540.

President Yoon’s decision has since been reversed and heavily criticised, amid further political unrest. The martial law order could see the South Korean president impeached, observers say.