Exploring the Korean Bitcoin “Kimchi Premium”
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If you have been trading Bitcoin for over a year, you will no doubt have heard of a weird market phenomenon called the “Kimchi premium”.
This is essentially the premium that Korean traders will pay over the international price of Bitcoin.
More specifically, it is the difference between the USD equivalent of the KRW price of Bitcoin vs. the USD price of Bitcoin on an international exchange.
This premium has varied anywhere from a few percent to over 20% in periods of severe market volatility. This opens up a whole host of questions around potential “arbitrage trades” between the markets.
So, can you take advantage of the Kimchi premium? Do other local market premiums exist?
In this post, we will give you everything you need to know about the Kimchi premium as well as the potential to trade it.
Kimchi Premium Example
Before we can take examine the implications of the Kimchi premium, it helps to take a look at a practical example of it in the markets today.
At the time of this post, the price of Bitcoin on an international exchange such as the Binance exchange is currently sitting at $6,618. However, if we take a look at the price of Bitcoin on a South Korean exchange such as Bithump, it is currently 7,540,000 KRW.
The current exchange rate between the Korean Won and the USD is about 1,100 KRW/USD. This means that the price of Bitcoin on an exchange like Bithump converted into USD is $6,854. This is about a 3.5% premium over the price of Bitcoin on Binance.
While this is far from the 20% premium that we have seen in the past, a 3.5% risk free profit would entice many traders who trade arbitrage. Yet, there are a number of factors that you need to take into account before you can consider attempting to arbitrage this market.
Triangular Kimchi Arbitrage
If a trader wanted to take advantage of this Kimchi premium, then they would have to buy Bitcoin in USD, send the coins to a South Korean exchange, sell them for Korean Won and then convert them into USD. Below is an example of the triangular arbitrage nature of the trade.
This is a simple example of how it will work. However, there are a few things that you should consider that could reduce the potential gains. These are fees, both on the exchange side as well as the fiat banking side. There is also the added scrutiny that comes from fiat currency exchange controls.
In terms of fees, there is likely to be a Bitcoin network fee as well as a withdrawal fee from Bithump. Then, when you try to send the funds abroad, you are likely to encounter more fees on the purchase of USD (rate above is spot) as well as international wiring fees.
When all of these fees are added up, it is likely that the Kimchi premium will be greatly reduced.
Another really important consideration is the requirements in order to obtain an exchange account and bank account in South Korea. There is no doubt that they will want to see proof of residency for the applicant.
So, unless you happen to have access to both a South Korean trading and Bank account, then you may find it difficult to ever place an arbitrage trade on the Kimchi premium.
However, I have observed similar market premiums on a number of other local currency exchanges in the past. I have seen premiums between the USD and the EUR, AUD, CAD, JPY and ZAR prices on these exchanges.
All that is required is you to observe the USD equivalent of the different currency prices for Bitcoin on Coinmarketcap. Interestingly enough, the South Korean exchanges have actually been removed from these calculations given the pricing distortion they had on prices in the past.
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