Meet South Korea's newly-elected pro-crypto President

Yoon Suk-yeol, the head of the People Power Party of South Korea, narrowly defeated the Democratic Party's nominee for president on Wednesday and became the first pro-crypto head of state to be elected in South Korea.

The 61-year-old former prosecutor won 49 per cent of the vote. Throughout the election, Yoon Suk-yeol’s crypto-friendly attitude made him a preferred choice amongst the young South Korean voters. Moreover, his anti-feminist sentiments, along with his technology-focused approach, drove him to victory.

One of his more divisive electoral promises was to raise the capital gains tax threshold on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from $2,000 to $40,000. If passed, this would be the world's most generous tax-free allowance.

The new president has stated that he would examine the 2017 ban on initial coin offerings (ICOs) and may restore the divisive fundraising method.

An ICO is a technique of obtaining funds for a new cryptocurrency enterprise that is unregulated. The problem with ICOs is that they are plagued with scams, with currency issuers vanishing once the funding is completed.

Suk-yeol also profited from the popularity of the Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) wave. Sensing the pulse of the youth, he dove into NFTs. During the election campaign, Yoon launched an NFT collection of himself, which comprised of his images and videos.

Young Koreans, who have been disproportionately disadvantaged by the country's growing economic disparity, are now looking to Yoon Suk-yeol to lead them to a brighter future. It remains to be seen whether or not this vision becomes a reality.