South Korea Elects A Pro-Bitcoin President

South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae-myung, is very supportive of bitcoin. The list of pro-BTC countries grows day by day.

Historic Election

This was a very special election following a period of great political uncertainty. The cause was the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk-yeol, who had attempted to declare martial law at the end of last year.

Mr. Lee described the election as a “day of judgment” against this attempted coup, which he called an “insurrection” and a threat to democracy. In this context, it was difficult not to ally with bitcoiners, who are at the forefront against dictatorial governments.

Like Poland a few days earlier, Korea joins the rapidly growing club of countries openly favorable to bitcoin. But unlike his Polish counterpart, Lee Jae-myung has already made several concrete promises. He notably committed to legalizing Bitcoin ETFs.

In the same effort to limit capital outflows to the United States, Mr. Lee also advocates a won-backed stablecoin. “We need to create a stablecoin backed by the won to prevent the flight of national wealth abroad”, he said during a political debate.

Recall that Tether is legally required to invest its reserves in US government debt.

That’s not all. Lee also proposes allowing the national pension fund to invest in bitcoin. This fund currently weighs 884 billion dollars. “I will create a safe investment environment so that young people can build wealth and plan their future,” he promised.

With over 16 million bitcoin holders (more than one third of the population), it was foreseen that Korean political parties would eventually embrace bitcoin. It will soon become an essential electoral battlehorse.

2025, the year of pro-bitcoin nations

2024 was the year of institutions with the arrival of BlackRock and the SEC’s approval of ETFs. 2025 will be the year of nations, led by the United States, which surprised the world by making bitcoin their reserve currency.

The US Vice President highlighted at the recent Bitcoin conference in Vegas that BTC is a “strategically important asset” for the United States. He emphasized that China’s distrust of bitcoin was an opportunity for the US to gain a strategic advantage.

“Why does our biggest adversary oppose bitcoin so much? If the Communist Republic of China turns away from bitcoin, the United States might want to embrace it,” he said.

It is only a matter of time before the whole world follows the United States’ footsteps. At the same conference, the Pakistani Prime Minister’s assistant announced the creation of a strategic bitcoin reserve as well as the allocation of two gigawatts for the bitcoin industry.

“Today is a historic day. The Pakistani government will create its own strategic bitcoin reserve, and we want to thank the United States for inspiring us,” he said. “We will keep these bitcoins and will never, ever sell them.”

And in France? The debate is progressing slowly. Marine Le Pen broke the silence by proposing to mine bitcoins using nuclear energy surpluses. On the left, François Hollande met with a group of bitcoiners for a discussion, but nothing more.

Yet, according to a Deloitte–Adan study, 10% of French people held bitcoins at the end of 2024 and 34% planned to acquire some. Like elsewhere, BTC will be a key theme in the upcoming French presidential election.

Don’t miss our article: Bitcoin: France is going to mess everything up.

Nicolas T.

Bitcoin, geopolitical, economic and energy journalist.

DISCLAIMER

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and should not be taken as investment advice. Do your own research before taking any investment decisions.