Why Track the USDT Premium Separately?
Learn how the Korean USDT/KRW price differs from an independent USD/KRW and USDT/USD reference, and why that gap deserves its own indicator.
USDT targets a value close to one US dollar, but it is traded separately against KRW on Korean exchanges. Its Korean price can therefore differ from an independent reference based on USD/KRW and USDT/USD.
Using the Korean USDT/KRW price as the conversion rate for other assets can hide the premium in USDT itself. CoinWOW therefore calculates and displays the USDT premium separately.
Reading the USDT premium
A high USDT premium does not by itself establish that the entire Korean crypto market is overheated. Compare it with the representative premium and the breadth of positive premiums across other assets.
Check the current market
Open the live CoinWOW Kimchi Premium scanner to compare the current readings on the same basis.
USDT and Bitcoin premiums can move differently
USDT aims to track the dollar, so its supply and demand are not identical to those of assets such as Bitcoin. A rise in Korean demand for a stablecoin used on global exchanges can affect the USDT premium first; at other times, Bitcoin and other major coins can show larger changes in their price gaps.
CoinWOW therefore considers the USDT premium alongside the representative premium, Bitcoin premium and positive-premium breadth rather than treating one value as a summary of the whole market.
See the current gap on the live USDT premium page.
Explore Kimchi Premium guides
Connect the live data with its calculation basis and market context.
What is the Kimchi Premium?
The definition and calculation.
CAUSESWhy premiums emerge
Demand, liquidity and transfer friction.
REVERSEUnderstanding negative premiums
Individual gaps and broader market discounts.
FX BASISCompare the calculation bases
Independent FX and local USDT pricing.
LIVELive premium scanner
Current premiums for matched assets.