South Korea witnessed a surge in cryptocurrency trading volume, reaching a record high of over $34 billion across local spot exchanges within a 24-hour period. This unprecedented spike coincided with the declaration of emergency martial law by the country’s president, which lasted for six hours.
Upbit, the nation’s largest exchange, accounted for a significant portion of this volume, processing $27.25 billion worth of cryptocurrencies. This dramatic increase nearly doubled the previous day’s trading volume of $18 billion, which had already surpassed the daily volume of the local stock market.
The sudden surge in trading activity was triggered by the declaration of emergency martial law, prompting South Korean traders to rush and sell their cryptocurrencies on local exchanges. Consequently, the price of Bitcoin on Upbit plummeted to 88 million won ($62,182) at one point.
Other major cryptocurrencies listed on South Korean exchanges also experienced price drops, while platforms faced service outages due to the overwhelming influx of activity.
