Upbit opened Bifrost trading against the South Korean won and USDT on Sept. 10, giving BFC two additional markets on South Koreaβs largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. Upbit scheduled BFC/KRW and BFC/USDT trading to begin at 13:45 Korea Standardβ¦
South Korean families have increased reported cryptocurrency gifts to minors by 2.7 times in a year, with transfers to children aged 18 or younger reaching 4.03 billion won ($2.8 million) in 2025. Data obtained from the National Tax Service byβ¦
Shinhan Investment Securities has proposed allocating 2% of investment portfolios to digital assets as the traditional 60% stock and 40% bond strategy struggles to provide the diversification investors once expected. According to Yonhap News Agency, Shinhan Investment Securities senior researcherβ¦
BDACS has selected LayerZeroβs Omnichain Fungible Token standard for its KRW1 stablecoin, giving the won-backed asset a unified cross-chain system as the company seeks to expand its use outside South Korea. LayerZero said BDACS, South Koreaβs largest digital asset custodianβ¦
Hanwha Investment & Securities has reportedly completed a tokenized securities platform supporting Avalanche as South Korea prepares to bring blockchain-based securities into its regulated capital markets system in February 2027. Seoul Economic Daily reported Sunday that the South Korean brokerageβ¦
Bitcoin is up this month but thereβs one place where itβs more significantly more expensive: South Korea.Β
The so-called Kimchi Premium β when bitcoin costs more on Korean exchanges β is back as retail investors pile back into the coin. Bloomberg first reported the news and CoinGecko data shows that bitcoinβs price is nearly 1% higher on Upbit, Koreaβs biggest exchange, than Binance.Β
Named after a popular dish in the Asian nation, the phenomenon comes down to Koreaβs market being partly walled off. Prices have historically run higher there because of strong local retail demand combined with strict capital controls and trading regulations.
As a result, the Bitcoin/won trading pair is more common in South Korea compared to the Bitcoin/U.S. dollar pair in other places. When there is demand for the asset, it will naturally be higher in the country as compared to other places.
The phenomenon has been described as a retail FOMO indicator, since Korea has few notable crypto funds and tight capital controls. The premium has reached as high as 21.5% in 2022.Β
Bitcoin was recently trading for $78,287, unmoved over the past 24 hours. Itβs also at the same price it was seven days ago, but over the past month, the coin has rallied by 24%.Β
The price of the biggest digital asset started surging after the U.S. Treasury in August said it would at least double the size of its liquidity-support buyback operations. The announcement hurt the dollar but non-yielding assets like bitcoin and gold have benefited.Β
President Donald Trump also said the same week that the long-awaited crypto Clarity Act was an important piece of legislation, and urged lawmakers to get it over the line.Β
JUST IN: There's now a 59% chance Bitcoin will be above $82,500 this month, according to Polymarketβ .com pic.twitter.com/kTYEZsxQvk
Crypto industry bigwigs have been calling for clear rules for distinguishing between digital assets that are securities, commodities or payment stablecoins, and news that regulators will soon have such a framework has typically benefited crypto markets.Β
Speculators are now betting on Polymarket that thereβs a 59% chance bitcoin will be above $82,500 this month, leading some to call an end to the bear market.