Cryptocurrency trading in South Korea, the world’s third-largest digital-currency market, is a huge deal.
So huge, in fact, that when authorities last week raided the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges on suspicion of tax-dodging, and when the government proposed a bill to ban “all local virtual currency exchanges,” the global cryptocurrency market took a nosedive.
Since then, more than 220,000 people have signed an online petition against the proposed plan that they say infringes on their “happy dream” of cryptocurrency trading, something that has eluded them “until now.”
“Buying my own home is difficult in South Korea, I don’t know how I could even buy one,” the petition says. “I don’t know how I could live doing the things that I want to do.”
After what some have deemed the crypto "bloodbath," users on the South Korean online community DC Inside displayed their frustrations by posting profanity-laced stories and uploading images of broken items that they said resulted from their anger over the valuations.
Though the user comments and images may be amusing for some, it underscores the implications of the South Korean government's approach to cryptocurrencies, especially for those who have invested heavily in the market.
Cryptocurrency trading in South Korea is a lucrative venture. An estimated 11% of people aged 15 to 29 are unemployed in the country, and the lump-sum deposit for an apartment skyrocketed by 73% from 2007 to 2016, according to government officials.
Here's how some traders reacted:
"Just lost 45% and shattered the monitor," one person said.
This user said that he wouldn't trade anymore and that he threw his laptop. After calming down, he said, he opened it to discover it was broken.
Another person posted a picture of a single tear. "Why. I said I was going to earn some money," they said. "Why are you blocking that."
This user said his monitor fell while he hit his desk five times in anger.
One user said they went to the bathroom to rant, adding: "S---. Where do I take a shower now?"
One Ripple trader said he took a 50% loss and broke his monitor. "If I trade cryptocurrency again," he said, "I am not a human."
This trader said he took a 35% loss and broke his monitor and desk.
Here's another view he provided.
This person said he was eating when he reacted. "Why is my life always like this," he said. "I don't even feel like cleaning."
"Don't bother me," said one trader who lost about $75,000. "I will kill you all."
This person said they hit a door with a chair. "Should I just commit suicide?" they said.
This person said he felt bad and went to wash his face only to find himself breaking his faucet.
Another user said: "F---. Nothing is f---ing working. I feel like s---. Abandoning everything."
