South Korean Won strengthens, while XRP, BTC, and equities tank amid calls for the president to step down

South Korea’s political landscape took an unprecedented turn on Tuesday as President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law. The South Korean Won (KRW) briefly weakened against the dollar, while Bitcoin (BTC) and Ripple (XRP) values plummeted on Upbit. 

Hours after Yoon’s unexpected decision, which saw public protests and army involvement, his cabinet reversed the order to impose martial law on the country. According to CNN, the public and policymakers are now collectively calling for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s resignation. 

XRP and BTC prices drop in South Korea 

Prior to President Yoon’s declaration of martial law, Ripple’s XRP saw heightened trading activity on South Korean crypto exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb. South Korea’s retail crypto market recorded a surge that saw trading volumes reach $18 billion on December 2, the second-highest level in 2024, according to a 10x Research report. 

On Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, XRP trading against the Korean Won (KRW) reached $3.8 billion, a volume 11 times higher than Bitcoin’s on the platform, as revealed by blockchain analytics firm Scopescan. Historically, XRP enthusiasts have pushed the coin to heightened trading values – values other crypto exchanges couldn’t match.

Crypto markets in South Korea witnessed dramatic volatility on Tuesday following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law announcement. Bitcoin (BTC) plummeted 33% on the Upbit exchange, briefly trading below $80,000, significantly lower than its global average of $95,000 on exchanges like Coinbase and Binance. 

XRP mirrored this downward trend, plummeting by more than 50% to a low of $1.13 on Upbit. CoinGecko reported XRP trading at $2.52 globally on the same day, highlighting a 6.3% discount on Upbit, a notable divergence for one of the market’s top-performing cryptocurrencies in recent weeks.

According to CoinGecko data, XRP is trading at $2.56 on global exchanges at the time of writing, while BTC is changing hands at $95,509. However, these values in Upbit are 12% to 15% down.

South Korean Won stabilizes after political turmoil scare

The South Korean Won faced sharp declines, hitting a two-year low of 1,443.40 won per U.S. dollar following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s abrupt martial law declaration in a late-night televised address. 

Markets showed initial panic, with the currency losing significant ground amid political uncertainty. However, after parliament unanimously overturned the martial law decree with a 190-vote consensus and Yoon subsequently lifted the order, the Won recouped some losses. By the end of Tuesday, it had recovered to 1,418.35 per dollar, still down 1% for the day. 

Yoon defended his actions as a necessary measure to protect liberal democracy, citing opposition parties’ alleged attempts to destabilize the country.

“I declare martial law to protect the free Republic of Korea from the threat of North Korean communist forces, to eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect the free constitutional order,” Yoon said.

Crypto outpaces stock trades in South Korea

In the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory, South Korea’s crypto market has outshined its traditional equities counterpart. Between November 5 and November 28, daily trading volumes on local crypto exchanges such as Upbit, Bithumb, and Korbit averaged $9.4 billion, significantly surpassing the $7 billion average of the Kospi equity index.

During this period, the Kospi dropped by 3.4%, while an index tracking the top 100 cryptocurrencies surged by 53%.

The enthusiasm for digital assets among South Koreans is not new. Over 7 million people, nearly 15% of the population, are registered with crypto exchanges. Bitcoin’s meteoric rise of over 1,200% in the past five years has been a key motivator, dwarfing Kospi’s 20% return in the same timeframe. 

According to a recent Bloomberg report, many South Korean investors now pivot to altcoins, which constitute over 80% of the trading volume on local platforms. Promotions like fee waivers by exchanges, including Bithumb, which recently claimed over 30% market share, further bolster investors’ participation.

President-elect Trump, who promised to impose additional tariffs on Chinese imports during his rallies, described South Korea as a “money machine,” insinuating the country should bear the costs of hosting American troops.

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