Kimchi Premium
Korea's kimchi premium: in English, updated daily
The gap between Korea's bitcoin price and the global rate. A positive "premium" means Koreans are paying up; a negative reading is a discount, local demand softer than global. It's a sentiment read on Korean retail, not a price prediction.
Data through 08-17
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When the Korea premium, Korean memory-chip flows, or derivatives positioning move notably, you get one note with what happened after similar signals before. Read past notes →
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Current reading
Korea vs. the global bitcoin price
Context
What is this?
Korean exchanges run largely walled off from global arbitrage because of capital controls, so Korea's bitcoin price can drift above or below the world price. When Korean retail is euphoric the premium widens; when local demand cools or money leaves, it flips to a discount. It's one of crypto's most-watched sentiment gauges, and lately it's been near zero to slightly negative.
Recent trend
Kimchi premium, latest snapshots
0%
Backtest
Does a discount predict anything? The receipts
There's a popular story that a kimchi discount marks "disbelief" and precedes rallies. We backtested our own kimchi divergence signal to check whether that holds. The honest answer:
All-period 7-day average: +0.3%
All-period 14-day average: +0.5%
Free data notes
When Korea × crypto numbers move, in your inbox
When the Korea premium, Korean memory-chip flows, or derivatives positioning move notably, you get one note with what happened after similar signals before.
Read a past letter →This page is an observation from public data, not investment advice or a buy/sell signal. Figures update daily and can be revised or delayed at the source.