South Korea sees extended run of "reverse Kimchi premium" in crypto market

South Korea's virtual asset market is seeing a deeper and more persistent "reverse Kimchi premium" this year, according to Yonhap News. CryptoQuant data show that in early August the average Bitcoin Kimchi premium was 0.48% and Ethereum's average was 0.49%, meaning coins were priced lower on domestic exchanges than on overseas platforms. Out of 221 days so far this year, Bitcoin posted a reverse premium on 123 days. It marks the first time since CryptoQuant began tracking the metric in July 2020 that days with a negative premium have outnumbered those with a positive premium. The longest consecutive stretch was also reset recently. From June 20 to July 24, the market logged a record 35 straight days of reverse premium, topping the previous record of 23 days. Analysts cite three main drivers behind the sustained widening: a strong local stock market pulling capital away from crypto; tighter regulation limiting the rollout of new offerings such as derivatives and weakening fresh inflows; and the impending introduction of cryptocurrency taxation, which has further cooled investor appetite.