Will South Korea Again Lead the Crypto Market with its Pro-Crypto President?

South Korea has elected pro-Crypto President, Yoon Suk-yeol, who supported deregulation of the cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency fever has swept South Korea. Around ten percent of South Korea's population invested in cryptocurrencies when Bitcoin prices reached an all-time high in the first half of 2021, up more than double from 2017 when the crypto boom first hit the country. A combination of political uncertainty, familiarity with micropayment systems, and economic problems have made cryptocurrencies an attractive option for South Korean investors. The country has always been an early adopter of key world-transforming technologies. It could be the case that the country may lead the way once again by incorporating cryptocurrencies into mainstream trading. The election campaign where Conservative Yoon Suk-yeol, who supported deregulation of the cryptocurrency sector and issued non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has been elected as South Korea's next president supports the above line. 

Icon (ICX) cryptocurrency, born out of South Korean blockchain ICON, has risen over 60% in the last twelve hours. The development comes at a time when the overall crypto market has been fluctuating on an everyday basis in the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war. Presently, each ICX token is trading at US$0.9027 on the international exchange CoinMarketCap. The overnight profit for the ICX token follows the election of a pro-crypto politician, Yoon Suk-yeol as the next President of the country.

As per South Korean daily Hankyung, the cryptocurrency sector is enjoying its second nationwide boom in South Korea since 2018, with over two million nationals experimenting in the arena. 

In just over half a century, South Korea has undergone a dramatic transformation from a poor, authoritarian country devastated by war to an economically dynamic, culturally rich, and resilient democracy. It is a major trade hub and a technological powerhouse. And its pop culture has gone global in recent years, as the boy band BTS and the hit Netflix series Squid Game have become household names.