[비즈한국] Following President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law, the won-dollar exchange rate surpassed 1,440 won during overnight trading. The prices of major virtual assets, including Bitcoin, traded on domestic cryptocurrency exchanges are also experiencing significant volatility.
As of 12:20 a.m. on the 4th, an hour and a half after President Yoon announced martial law on the night of the 3rd, the won-dollar exchange rate in the Seoul foreign exchange market was trading at 1,447.40 won, up 46 won from the previous day.
While the daytime closing price was 1,402.9 won, the rate began to surge starting at 10:30 p.m. when news of President Yoon's martial law declaration broke. This is the highest level in approximately 2 years and 1 month since October 25, 2022 (1,444.2 won), when the dollar was extremely strong due to the impact of high-intensity monetary tightening.
Prices of virtual assets on domestic exchanges are also plummeting. On the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, Bitcoin was trading at 129.96 million won as of 12:35 a.m. on the 4th, down about 2.64 million won from the previous day. Bitcoin's price had fluctuated around the 130 million won mark throughout the previous day, but it began to crash around 10:30 p.m. when the martial law announcement was made, at one point plummeting to the 88 million won range. Due to the sudden market crash, a surge in users led to temporary access issues on some exchanges, including Upbit and Bithumb.
Whether the domestic stock market will open on the 4th remains undecided. The Korea Exchange stated, "Whether the stock market will open is currently undecided," and added, "We will make an announcement as soon as a decision is reached." Since the declaration of martial law, key exchange executives have returned to the office to discuss market response measures.