Cryptocurrencies in South Korean exchanges commonly trade at a premium compared to global exchanges, due to a closed market environment.
As bitcoin tested new highs, the kimchi premium also soared. According to cryptocurrency data provider Cryptoquant, the Korea Premium Index reached its highest level since May 2021 on March 16, reaching 10.88%.Sam Bankman-Fried saw an arbitrage opportunity in the price gap across different exchanges. The CEO of failed crypto exchange FTX was last weekAs a quant trader in 2017, he noticed the price discrepancy of bitcoin could sometimes be as much as 60%.
"South Korea requires a specific type of bank account linked to an individual in order to open a crypto exchange account, which makes it challenging for institutional players to enter the crypto market," He pointed out that the won is a highly restricted currency, and won transfers outside the country are tightly controlled.