Bitcoin trading volume on South Korean exchange Bithumb surges, and the "Kimchi premium" reappears

According to BlockBeats, on April 27, the “Kimchi premium” (the phenomenon that the price of Bitcoin on Korean exchanges is much higher than in other parts of the world) reappeared. According to TradingView data, as of the time of publication, Bitcoin trading volume on Bithumb, a major Korean trading platform, is 4% to 8% higher than elsewhere.

While the reasons for this are unclear, local media reported that South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party intends to postpone taxation of cryptocurrencies for at least a year.

Earlier in April, the premium rebounded for the first time since January 2018 after South Korean authorities pledged to take aggressive action to clean up the cryptocurrency market. Meanwhile, Joo Ho-young, the leader of the opposition People Power party, called for more active supervision of virtual currencies and the establishment of a special task force, according to another local report.