The reduction in South Korean “Kimchi Premium” indicates the general direction of the overall crypto market in the country.
South Korean “Kimchi Premium” has once again flipped to a decrease.
The term "Kimchi Premium" is used to signify that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are worth less on South Korean crypto exchanges than on other international virtual asset platforms.
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Blockchain analytics platform CryptoQuant data revealed that the Korean Premium index has been shifting from -0.24 to 0.01 between February 17th and 19th.
At the time of writing, on the crypto exchange Binance, Bitcoin (BTC) is worth $24.487, while Coinbase values it at around $24.464.
On the contrary, South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb values it at $24.386, while on the top crypto exchange in South Korea, Upbit, Bitcoin trades for $24.405.
The same is the case for Ethereum, which is considered the 2nd largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization. On the cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, Ethereum retails for almost $1.683. On the other hand, on Binance, Ethereum is valued at $1.691.
As per venture capital firm and node validator Stablenode’s COO, Doo Wan Nam, the shift of the Kimchi Premium points toward a decline in South Korean retail investors’ interest in cryptocurrencies. In a tweet, Doo Wan Nam noted:
Generally it means fall in interest in crypto from Korean retail, which ironically is generally a better time to buy cause you know you can always sell yours to Korean gamblers for 20% premium later when they FOMO.
Kimchi Premium’s size is often connected to crypto-related news. Back in 2018, a sharp dip was witnessed in the premium when the authorities declared initiating a crackdown on the crypto assets trading.
In 2019, the University of Calgary revealed that 2016 was the year when Kimchi Premium took place for the first time.
