Low-Income Koreans Got Rich on the Blockchain, Then Lost it All

Maybe more than anywhere else on Earth, South Korea embraced blockchain as an element of pop culture.

Crypto Wake Up Call

For many low-income young South Koreans, it was an an entirely new way of making a living.

The cryptocurrency market made a ton of people rich during its early years, with the value of Bitcoin reaching incredible heights.

But what goes up must come down: 2018 was a harsh wake-up call for those invested. Many Koreans who invested in cryptocurrencies lost many thousands of dollars in the crash, the New York Times reports — but still hope for a rebound.

Block Battle

South Korea remains the third-largest market for cryptocurrencies after the U.S. and Japan, with a side dish of crypto pop culture that hasn't been diluted by the market meltdown. For instance, contestants compete to build blockchain businesses on "Block Battle," a TV show that calls itself the "world's first blockchain survival TV show," with viewers at home voting in real-time like "American Idol."

"Who's the next Satoshi?" the moderator asks rhetorically at the top of the show, a nod to the nebulous forefather of blockchain tech.

The show aired its first episode back in October 2018 — a terrible period, ironically, for crypto prices.

Cryptopia

While many Koreans are still counting their losses, the dreams of becoming rich through cryptocurrencies is still very much alive.

But the harsh reality — including numerous hacks and scandals involving South Korean crypto exchanges — should really be a sobering wake up call.

READ MORE: Cryptocurrency Was Their Way Out of South Korea’s Lowest Rungs. They’re Still Trying. [New York Times]

More on cryptocurrencies: Did a Crypto CEO Fake His Own Death to Abscond With $190 Million