Bitcoin price on South Korean exchanges reaches $66,500 in local currency

The Bitcoin price in a pair with the South Korean won, converted to US dollars, on local bitcoin exchanges Bithumb and Korbit rose to $66,500. As a result, the so-called ‘kimchi premium’ exceeded 15%.

As of writing, the bitcoin price on foreign exchanges stands at $57,430, according to CoinGecko.

The ‘kimchi premium’ on Ethereum has also surpassed 15%. The price of the second-largest cryptocurrency is $2,037 on foreign platforms and $2,352 on South Korean ones, in USD.

Arbitrageurs cannot take advantage of the price discrepancy. According to The Block, Bitcoin exchanges in South Korea are prohibited from opening accounts for foreign nationals, and foreign platforms do not support the first cryptocurrency in a pair with the won.

The publication, citing a University of Calgary study, noted that from 2016 to 2018 the kimchi premium averaged 4.8%. At its peak the figure reached almost 55%.

In 2019, ForkLog wrote that in Asian countries Bitcoin traded 3-5% higher than on other markets.

In December 2020 and in March 2021, respectively, their South Korea units were closed, Binance and OKEx.

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