The South Korean won has dropped to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar since March 2009, leading to a sharp 3% premium for Bitcoin (BTC) in the country, according to CryptoQuant data.

On Upbit, the leading crypto exchange in South Korea, Bitcoin is priced at 145,000,000 won ($98,600), while it trades for about $96,700 on Coinbase. This price disparity comes amid political turbulence in South Korea, following the parliament’s vote to impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, just weeks after President Yoon Suk Yeol was also impeached. The won plunged to a 15-year low against the dollar in the wake of these events.

Jeff Park, head of alpha strategies at Bitwise, addressed the situation on X, stating, “The ongoing political crisis is centered on election fraud and the breakdown of trust in South Korea’s National Election Commission (NEC). The weaponization of impeachment, along with accusations of foreign election meddling, highlights the fragility of democratic systems when confronted with disinformation. This issue extends far beyond South Korea—it serves as a global warning to all democracies.”