South Korean young people turning to crypto out of desperation

A local expert says a growing share of South Korea’s youth is turning to cryptocurrency not out of belief in its technology, but as a last resort amid economic woes.

Cryptocurrency is booming in South Korea, but beneath the surface, the surge is driven less by optimism than by the economic desperation of its younger generation, according to a local expert.

Crypto exchange users in South Korea have surpassed 16 million, according to data from late March, after receiving a boost from US President Donald Trump’s election win last November. The figure represents over 30% of the country’s population.

Still, recent comments at German Blockchain Week from Eli Ilha Yune, chief product officer at quantum machine learning startup Anzaetek, suggest that this is not a consequence of the local population’s enthusiasm for blockchain technology. He explained during an “Asia Insights” panel that there are a lot of “crypto traders in Korea.”

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