This week, as bitcoin flirts with fresh highs in uncharted price territory, South Korea’s premium is back on the menu. Not only that, but it’s held its ground for a sizzling 20 days straight.
Crypto’s Spiciest Price Tag
It’s been a thrill ride for crypto diehards this week, with bitcoin (BTC) gliding through all-time price zones. Alongside the latest uptick, BTC prices in South Korea flipped from discount-bin status in September to premium territory.
Cryptoquant data shows that a 0.57% markdown on Sept. 15 vanished overnight, replaced by a 0.2% premium the very next day. For the past 20 days, bitcoin traded in won has strutted comfortably above the global average.
On Sept. 25, that premium hit 3.27%, before slipping to just 0.79% on Oct. 3. Yesterday, it popped back up to 1.88% over the weighted global price. Prior to the latest $126K peak, archived data from coinmarketcap.com on Monday clocked BTC at $125,117 per coin at 11:57 a.m. Eastern. On Upbit, at the exact same time, archived figures show BTC traded for $126,109.
South Korea’s bitcoin premiums aren’t exactly new—they’re practically a local specialty. Tight capital controls and stiff financial rules block easy money movement between domestic and foreign markets, stifling arbitrage and letting price gaps linger.
Add in the country’s heavy appetite for bitcoin and altcoins, and you’ve got a recipe for persistent premium pricing. Though the premium likes to play hide-and-seek, it never fails to shine a light on South Korea’s quirky crypto scene.
Elsewhere, traders see price gaps vanish faster than a meme coin pump, but in Seoul, those spreads like to stick around—fed by tight regulations and a retail crowd that just won’t quit. By 3 p.m. EST on Oct. 6, when BTC ripped past the $126,000 range for the first time in history, prices on Upbit were still around $1,000 higher.