Why Does the Kimchi Premium Exist?
Explore the differences in demand, liquidity and asset-transfer conditions that can create, widen or narrow price gaps between Korean and global crypto markets.
The Kimchi Premium has more than one possible cause. Price gaps can emerge when buying and selling demand in Korean KRW markets differs from global markets, or when the markets respond to new prices at different speeds.
Transfer friction also matters. Even for the same cryptocurrency, suspended deposits or withdrawals, network delays, trading limits and account-specific conditions can prevent prices from converging immediately.
What to compare when the premium widens
Look beyond Bitcoin alone. The representative premium, USDT premium, proportion of assets with positive premiums and high-turnover assets help distinguish an isolated price jump from a broader change in Korean market pricing.
Check the current market
Use the live CoinWOW Kimchi Premium scanner to compare these observations across matched assets.
Why a visible price gap may not disappear immediately
In theory, buying in the cheaper market and selling in the more expensive one can reduce a price difference. In practice, cryptocurrency transfers take time, supported deposit and withdrawal networks differ, account conditions vary, and prices can move while assets are in transit.
A visible premium therefore does not mean that everyone can execute the same trade on the same terms. CoinWOW focuses on displaying observed price gaps and how broadly they are distributed, rather than predicting a trading return.
Explore Kimchi Premium guides
Connect the live data with its calculation basis and market context.
What is the Kimchi Premium?
The definition and calculation.
REVERSEUnderstanding negative premiums
Individual gaps and broader market discounts.
USDTUnderstanding the USDT premium
Why the stablecoin gap is a separate indicator.
FX BASISCompare the calculation bases
Independent FX and local USDT pricing.
LIVELive premium scanner
Current premiums for matched assets.