South Koreans Pay 3% More for Bitcoin Amid Political Turmoil
South Koreans are paying 3% more for bitcoin (BTC) than U.S. buyers, driven by a desire for protection against the declining won, according to CryptoQuant data.
On South Korea's largest crypto exchange, Upbit, bitcoin is priced at 145,000,000 won ($98,600), compared to approximately $96,700 on Coinbase.
This price discrepancy follows the South Korean parliament's impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and a previous impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, coinciding with the won reaching a 15-year low against the dollar.
Jeff Park, head of alpha strategies at Bitwise, stated that the situation reflects issues of election fraud and diminishing trust in South Korea’s National Election Commission (NEC). He noted that the use of impeachment as a political tool and allegations of foreign interference highlight the vulnerability of democracies to disinformation, presenting a cautionary tale for democratic systems globally.