Seoul, March 25 (NationPress) The South Korean won appreciated against the US dollar on Wednesday as President Donald Trump hinted at a potential rapid resolution to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The won started trading at 1,493 per dollar, reflecting an increase of 2.2 won from the previous close, according to reports by the Yonhap news agency.

The currency had previously surged to 1,495.2 won per dollar on Tuesday, bouncing back from a 17-year low of 1,517.3 won after Trump announced a five-day delay on threatened attacks against Iranian energy sectors and confirmed that negotiations were in progress to resolve the ongoing tensions.

However, Tehran has refuted claims of dialogue with the United States, describing them as attempts to influence energy prices and stock markets, according to various international media outlets.

Both domestic and global foreign exchange and equity markets have witnessed increased volatility as U.S.-Israeli military strikes against Iran, which commenced late last month, have escalated into a wider regional conflict.

As a result, global oil prices have surged significantly due to the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz that has disrupted international oil supplies since the onset of hostilities.

In related news, South Korea's virtual asset market value dropped by 8 percent in the latter half of last year compared to the first half, largely due to declining prices of major cryptocurrencies, as per data released on Wednesday.

By the end of December, the total market capitalization of virtual assets was reported at 87.2 trillion won (approximately US$58.4 billion), reflecting a decline of 7.9 trillion won from the previous six months, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

During the July-December timeframe, the total value of deposits in Korean won by traders increased by 1.9 trillion won, or 31 percent, reaching 8.1 trillion won, while the operating profits of market operators fell by 38 percent to 381 billion won.

As of the end of 2025, there were 27 virtual asset market operators in South Korea, including 18 crypto exchanges, according to the financial regulatory body.

During the July-December period, the average daily transaction value in the crypto market was 5.4 trillion won, a 15 percent drop from the daily average of 6.4 trillion won in the first half of 2025, as reported by the FSC.

Furthermore, the user base of the market grew by 3 percent to approximately 11.13 million during the same period.