Bitcoin’s Kimchi Premium Soars! What’s Cooking in the Crypto Kitchen? 🍲💰

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Oh, gather ’round, dear readers, for a tale of Bitcoin (BTC) and its rather peculiar “Kimchi Premium!” You see, this cheeky little number is the price gap between the spot BTC price on South Korean exchanges and the Binance BTC/USDT pair. And guess what? It has soared to heights not seen since the early days of 2022! But hold your horses, because it seems the Korean buyers might not even be in the kitchen stirring the pot, as the wise CryptoQuant CEO has pointed out! 🧐

Bitcoin (BTC) Kimchi Premium Hits a Whopping 12%: The Plot Thickens! 🍜

Now, let’s get to the juicy bits! The Bitcoin Kimchi Premium, that delightful difference between the largest crypto’s valuations on South Korean and international exchanges, has hit a staggering three-year high today! During the wildest sell-offs, it leapt to an astonishing 12%! Ki Young Ju, the big cheese at CryptoQuant, was the one to spill the beans on this curious case.

#Bitcoin Kimchi Premium is 12% right now—a three-year high. The main reason for BTC drop seems to be the strong DXY.

— Ki Young Ju (@ki_young_ju) February 3, 2025

But wait! Before you start blaming the Korean market for this unusual discrepancy, let’s hear from Mr. Ki Young Ju himself. He claims that the strong position of the DXY (Dollar valuation index) is the real culprit behind this spike. Who knew the dollar had such a big ego? 💵

The Kimchi Premium took a leap when BTC/USDT hit a local bottom at $92,000. And no, it wasn’t because our Korean friends were buying the dip like it was a hotcake! It was all about BTC being converted to USD. Talk about a currency tango! 💃

During this whole kerfuffle, direct BTC swaps in Korean won (KRW) stayed as calm as a cat in a sunbeam, according to our friend CryptoQuant CEO. He shared in a thread:

Few Koreans are converting BTC into KRW. Other countries are likely seeing a similar trend.

Some commentators, with their magnifying glasses and detective hats, have attributed this bizarre jump to panic-selling in overseas markets, which apparently didn’t ruffle the feathers of the Korean segment. Quite the mystery, wouldn’t you say? 🕵️‍♂️

Bitcoin (BTC) Outshines All Top 25 Cryptos as the Market Takes a Nosedive! 🎢

Now, let’s not forget about the Coinbase Premium, which is the gap between the Coinbase and Binance prices of the USDT pair. Surprisingly, it stayed positive during today’s sell-off. What a twist! 🎉

As we’ve seen in previous tales, the cryptocurrency markets have experienced their worst drop in years, losing a whopping $280 billion in net capitalization—down 7% in just 24 hours! Yikes! 😱

But fear not! Bitcoin (BTC), the granddaddy of cryptocurrencies, seems to be holding its ground amidst the chaos. It only lost a mere 3.5% and bounced back to $95,000 by the time we checked in. Bravo, Bitcoin! 👏

In fact, Bitcoin (BTC) is the shining star among the top 25 assets, excluding those pesky stablecoins. Who would have thought? 🍾

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2025-02-03 18:37