The South Korean won has fallen to its lowest value against the U.S. dollar since March 2009. As a result, South Koreans are paying 3% more to purchase Bitcoin (BTC) than American investors, according to CryptoQuant data.
On South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, Upbit, Bitcoin is priced at 145,000,000 won ($98,600), while on Coinbase, it is valued at approximately $96,700. This price discrepancy comes after South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach Prime Minister and Acting President Han Duck-soo, just weeks after the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. The won dropped to a 15-year low against the dollar.
Jeff Park, head of alpha strategies at investment firm Bitwise, commented on the political crisis on X, stating, “This unfolding saga is fundamentally about election fraud and the erosion of trust in South Korea’s National Election Commission (NEC). The use of impeachment as a political tool, combined with allegations of foreign election interference, highlights the fragility of democracy in the face of disinformation. This is not just a Korean story; it’s a warning for democracies worldwide.”
