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Bitcoin Kimchi Premium Spikes as South Korea's Political Turmoil Escalates
The South Korean won hit the lowest level against the dollar since March 2009.
Updated Dec 30, 2024, 8:32 a.m. Published Dec 27, 2024, 12:22 p.m.
What to know:
- South Koreans are paying a 3% premium over U.S. traders to buy bitcoin, according to CryptoQuant data.
- The won hit the lowest level against the U.S. dollar since 2009 as parliament voted to impeach the acting president.
South Koreans are paying a full 3% more to buy bitcoin than their U.S. counterparts as they seek protection from the plummeting won, CryptoQuant data show.
Priced in won, the largest cryptocurrency is valued at 145,000,000 ($98,600) on the country's largest crypto exchange, Upbit. That compares with about $96,700 on Coinbase (COIN).
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The move follows a vote by the South Korean parliament to impeach Han Duck-soo, the prime minister and acting president, just weeks after impeaching President Yoon Suk Yeol. The won slumped to a 15-year low against the dollar.
"This unfolding saga is fundamentally about election fraud and the erosion of trust in South Korea’s National Election Commission (NEC)," said Jeff Park, head of alpha strategies at investment manager Bitwise, in a post on X. "The use of impeachment as a political tool, combined with allegations of foreign election interference, underscores the fragility of democracy in the face of disinformation. This is not just a Korean story; it’s a warning for democracies worldwide."
UPDATE (Dec. 30, 08:32 UTC): Adds dropped word "to" in third paragraph.
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