Bitcoin Plunges 30% in South Korea Following Martial Law Declaration, Market Chaos Ensues

Bitcoin's value plunged to $63,000—a 30% drop—on South Korea's Upbit exchange following the nation's shocking martial law declaration.

Bitcoin price plunged sharply on South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit after the nation declared shocking martial law, triggering panic among investors and causing technical issues on major South Korean exchanges.

Bitcoin price dropped to around $63,000 on South Korea’s Upbit exchange after the nation declared martial law on Monday, March 20. This marks a significant 30% decrease from the global Bitcoin price, which hovered around $95,000 at the time.

The drastic price disparity between South Korea and the rest of the world caused widespread concern among investors, prompting many to sell off their Bitcoin holdings en masse.

This, in turn, led to technical difficulties on several major South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges, further exacerbating the sell-off and causing delays in order execution.

However, following the repeal of martial law by South Korean lawmakers, Bitcoin price on Upbit rebounded sharply, narrowing the earlier price disparity.

As of press time, BTC trades at approximately $96,178 on the exchange, reflecting a substantial recovery from the earlier lows.

Bitcoin Price Shows Modest Decline Globally

While Bitcoin price experienced significant volatility in South Korea, its movements on a global scale were far more muted.

According to data from Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, Bitcoin price exhibited a modest decline of around 0.90% over the past 24 hours.

At the time of writing, BTC trades at a price of $95,972.17 on Binance, as traders await the next directional move.

Bitcoin derivatives also saw a surge in activity, with a 16.88% increase in trading volume, which now stands at $84.38 billion.

On the other hand, open interest saw a slight reduction of 2.66%, falling to $58.51 billion, which could indicate a shift in risk appetite or traders cashing out on profits.

Derivatives and Options Market Activity

As per data from Coinglass, Bitcoin derivatives activity sent mixed signals.

While trading volumes surged, reaching $84.38 billion, open interest declined, falling to $58.51 billion, which may indicate waning confidence among traders.

However, options trading showed cautious optimism, with a 13.39% rise in volume and a 1.25% increase in open interest, reflecting some traders’ anticipation of further price movements.

On Binance, traders leaned bullish, with account and position long/short ratios of 1.1858 and 1.5772, respectively.

Similarly, OKX data revealed bullish sentiment, with ratios of 1.05 for accounts and 1.0799 for positions. However, the global long/short ratio stood at 0.9478, indicating a slight bearish skew.

Bitcoin Liquidations Hit $92.45 Million

The volatile environment led to significant liquidations across exchanges. Over the past 24 hours, $92.45 million in positions were liquidated, with $57.72 million from long positions and $34.73 million from shorts.

Short-term liquidations amounted to $10.80 million, split between $3.21 million from longs and $7.59 million from shorts. These figures highlight the market’s instability, particularly in response to the political developments in South Korea.