CryptoQuant analyst: BTC "Kimchi premium" reaches a local high, indicating strong demand from Korean investors

CryptoQuant analyst Joo Hyun Ryu wrote that during the recent market downturn, speculative short-term holders' exposure to Bitcoin increased, especially driven by demand from South Korea. The "Kimchi Premium," which measures the price gap between Korean exchanges and other exchanges, reached a local high of 5.12, indicating strong local demand. Ryu explained: "This sharp adjustment in the market seems to have attracted new investors, as evidenced by the 3 percentage points increase in the proportion of short-term holders (STH) with a holding period of less than three months in just one week." The rise in buying interest among Korean investors shows that the region is optimistic about the prospects of Bitcoin, despite mixed signals from global markets. Earlier news, Korean cryptocurrency investors broke through 15 million in November. According to data submitted by the Bank of Korea, as of the end of November, a total of 15.59 million Koreans had accounts on the country's five major cryptocurrency exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and GOPAX).