South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared emergency martial law on Tuesday night, citing threats from North Korea and anti-state elements. The announcement triggered sharp declines in cryptocurrency prices on major Korean exchanges like Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone. Bitcoin dropped 12% on Upbit, while Tether briefly fell to 84 cents. Most altcoins, including XRP and Dogecoin, also saw double-digit losses. Upbit’s Market Index fell 13.28%, and its mobile trading app became inaccessible due to a surge in traffic.
Pump.fun, a Solana-based memecoin platform, hit a record $93 million in monthly revenue for November, a 207% increase from October's $30.5 million, bringing its total revenue to $240 million. This rebound followed declines in August and September and reflects renewed investor interest. The platform has launched over 4.2 million memecoins, with a total market cap of $6.63 billion, despite recent minor dips. Top-performing tokens include Act I: The AI Prophecy (3,500% monthly gain) and Moondeng (285%). Pump.fun also launched an advanced trading terminal with enhanced features and teased a future token launch, signaling continued growth.
BlackRock’s IBIT spot Bitcoin ETF has surpassed 500,000 BTC in assets under management (AUM), equivalent to nearly $50 billion, less than a year after its launch in January 2024. The milestone was achieved after $338.3 million in net inflows on Monday, representing 2.38% of Bitcoin’s total supply. IBIT is now the third-strongest ETF in the U.S. by year-to-date flows, driven by institutional adoption and Bitcoin’s rising value. Experts predict IBIT could eventually manage over 1 million BTC as it becomes a standard portfolio diversifier for large funds. Bitcoin’s meteoric rise to $95,321 has been fueled by consistent ETF inflows, cementing ETFs as a key driver of Bitcoin's market growth.
BTC is currently oscillating between $90,000 and $100,000, demonstrating a lack of definitive momentum. The presence of a robust sell wall at the $100,000 level introduces a psychological dimension to market movements, underscoring the emotional bias of traders which can precipitate rapid sell-offs when prices approach psychologically significant levels. Technically, BTC's price action is confined within a symmetrical triangle, with recent activity rebounding from the lower boundary of approximately $93,500, aiming for a retest of the upper echelons around $98,500.
Market participants are keenly anticipating the release of the October job openings data today, marking the beginning of a week filled with key economic indicators that could elucidate the robustness of the labor market. A critical focal point remains Friday's November payrolls data.
In a significant geopolitical development, the South Korean President has enacted emergency martial law, which has precipitated a precipitous decline in cryptocurrency values on local exchanges, with Bitcoin and XRP experiencing a rapid 30% devaluation. Domestically, BTC plunged from $96,000 to $63,000 as the political crisis unfolded, driven by allegations of opposition collusion with North Korean sympathizers that disrupted legislative proceedings, casting immediate shadows over the cryptocurrency markets.
In other news, LINK witnessed a remarkable 30% appreciation in value within a single day following the announcement of its integration with a European Union-based tokenized asset service, catalyzing a surge in platform engagement. Transaction volumes soared to a two-year peak, escalating 286% from 6,437 on November 29 to 24,901 by December 2. LINK's valuation has surged by 50% over the past week and an impressive 125% over the last 30 days.
On the equities front, the stock market exhibited minimal movement on Tuesday, pausing after a rally that propelled the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record highs. Since the November 5 elections, the S&P 500 has advanced 4.6%, while the Nasdaq has experienced a 5.2% uptick.
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