Many South Koreans are obsessed with cryptocurrencies. The country’s lawmakers? Not so much. From the prime minister down, officials have warned that the speculative mania surrounding Bitcoin and its peers is dangerous. Demand for the virtual currency was so extreme at one point in January that it lifted prices in Korea 50 percent higher than those in America. The premium has since receded, but policy makers are still worried. Given the nation’s outsized role in the crypto world, the prospect of a clampdown has captured the attention of traders worldwide.
Korea’s individual investors have long had an affinity for supercharged financial wagers, says Tai-ki Lee, senior research fellow at the Korea Institute of Finance. Bitcoin’s stateless status appeals to some citizens who’ve grown wary of keeping their savings in a country that shares a border with Kim Jong Un’s North Korea, according to Kwak Keumjoo, professor of psychology at Seoul National University. Whatever the reason, even the central bank has had to ask staff to refrain from trading cryptocurrencies, particularly during work hours.
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