Bitcoin and other altcoins experienced significant declines on South Korean exchanges, triggered by the government’s announcement of martial law.
Following the declaration of a state of emergency, major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, saw a drop of up to 30% against the South Korean won.
The crisis began when President Yoon Suk Yeol implemented emergency martial law, accusing opposition parties of undermining the government, supporting North Korea, and obstructing the country’s legislative functions.
This political turmoil led to widespread negative sentiment, which extended to local cryptocurrency markets, causing sharp declines in the prices of popular coins like Bitcoin, XRP, and Dogecoin on platforms like Upbit. On Upbit, some traders managed to buy Bitcoin at $80,000 due to a spike.
Additionally, South Korea reportedly placed all media outlets under government control after the president declared martial law.
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