Koreans Are So Crazy About Buying Bitcoins, They're Actually Paying $4,000 Extra For Each Coin
The cryptocurrency demand has massively driven up premiums in the country over the past week.
As Bitcoin prices surge past the $15,000 mark this week, a lot of people are questioning whether it was a smart idea to doubt the cryptocurrency in the first place.
In fact, a lot of people think it¡¯s better to get into the game late rather than never.
That sentiment is strongest in Korea in particular, where people caught up in a buying frenzy have actually driven up the premiums on Bitcoin trading to between 16 to 23 percent higher than international rates.
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In essence, Koreans are now paying about $19,000 for Bitcoins.
In just 24 hours on Wednesday, Seoul hosted about 21 percent of the entire world¡¯s Bitcoin trades in Korean won, despite the country being only 1.9 percent of the global economy. Koreans have gone so crypto-crazy that Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon has warned that cryptocurrencies are corrupting the nation¡¯s youth and ¡°can lead to serious distortion or social pathological phenomena, if left unaddressed.¡±
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And while no one really can say why cryptocurrency is so popular in Korea, some believe it may have to do with their rowdy neighbour. A lot of Koreans are worried about keeping their savings in a bank, while their country shares a border with Kim Jong-un and his regime frothing at the mouth. As such, a decentralised currency helps average citizens feel their savings are more protected.
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