You might not know this but South Korea is the hotbed for crypto activity. Unlike in the U.S where crypto is just about starting to enter the minds of everyday folk, Korea has been ahead of the game for a while now with approximately one-third of the population owning crypto. The job market in Korea is a competitive one and dreams of financial stability for many appear to be just a pipe dream.
South Korea has one of the strongest economies in the world and they for decades now have longed to be at the heart of any technological revolution. This can go a long way to explaining why the nation has embraced crypto so much. Despite this love for crypto as per usual, the government doesn’t share this desire.
The Korean government passed legislation in March 2020 with the aim of clamping down on blockchain investments. This left many of Korea’s youth unhappy. Mark Lee, the founder of South Korean blockchain marketing agency Eightfive, recently said this when speaking of the new legislation that has been put in place.
“South Korea is quite conservative when it comes to speculative products. The high youth unemployment numbers are often seen as one reason many young people are drawn to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.”
The youth unemployment rate is currently at 10% and it is the youth that continues to drive the interest in cryptocurrency. Many reports suggest that a high number of people are leaving their jobs in order to trade crypto. Such is the extent of this many companies have gone to the lengths of blocking access to crypto exchanges so employees cannot monitor the prices throughout the day.
“Different concerns exist in different jurisdictions,” said Ben Caselin, head of research and strategy at South Korean cryptocurrency exchange AAX, adding: “In South Korea, perhaps more than anywhere else, there is a very real concern over capital flows, especially in relation to North Korea. We can, therefore, expect a continued tightening of regulations in South Korea.”
