South Korea saw a record $34 billion in crypto trades in just 24 hours. This happened during President Yoon Suk-yeol’s brief emergency martial law, which was announced late Tuesday and lasted only six hours.
Data from CoinMarketCap shows that major exchanges like Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax saw a massive trading spike. Upbit alone handled $27.25 billion. This was nearly double the $18 billion traded on December 2, which had already surpassed the local stock market’s daily volume.
Traders rushed to sell their crypto, temporarily causing Bitcoin prices on Upbit to drop to 88 million won ($62,182). Other cryptocurrencies also saw price drops. The sudden trading activity caused some platforms to crash.
The surge followed Yoon’s claim that “anti-state” forces were threatening democracy. Lawmakers opposed the martial law, leading to its repeal just six hours later.
The opposition party plans to charge Yoon and top officials with treason. They’re also pushing for impeachment. Meanwhile, bets on whether Yoon will leave office this year spiked to 78% but later dropped to 47%. Yoon’s full term is set to end in May 2027.
