Bitcoin price premiums have resurfaced amid the recent bullish fervor that has gripped the market.
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Data reveals that BTC is trading at a $4,000 premium in South Korea compared to other markets. At press time, Bitcoin was priced at $66,893 on Binance, while Korean platforms like Upbit, Coinone, and Bithumb had prices around $70,000.
This premium trend extends to Ethereum, the second largest crypto by market capitalization. ETH costs around $3,900 on Korean platforms, while it hovers around $3,600 on other exchanges.
The Kimchi premium denotes a scenario in which the price of a digital asset is significantly higher on South Korean exchanges than on U.S. or European markets, opening up arbitrage opportunities for traders with access to both markets.
Generally considered a bullish indicator, the Kimchi premium suggests increased buyer activity in the Korean market. The premium is also used to infer strong commitment to digital assets in South Korea.
Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant, recently Underlines strong institutional demand for BTC in Korea, citing widespread adoption even among older demographics on platforms like Upbit.
Although the current resurgence of premiums is not unprecedented, it echoes previous events, notably during bullish cycles like that of 2021 when BTC commanded significantly higher prices on South Korean exchanges than Coinbase and other major platforms.
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Likewise, several market observers have identified BTC is trading at a premium of over $69,000 on Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) futures, a new all-time high.
They explained that this indicates that traders are willing to pay a premium for the CME because they believe the price of BTC will continue to rise regardless.
CoinGlass On-Chain Analytics Platform data shows that CME’s BTC open interest has reached an all-time high of nearly $10 billion over the past day, while overall open interest on the flagship asset totals an all-time high of $32.36 billion.