South Korean investors appear to be returning to Bitcoin as the Korea Premium turns positive following its longest negative period.
Bitcoin rose 25% in August, its strongest monthly gain since November 2024. The asset briefly crossed $80,000 last week but has since settled near $78,000. The rally, nonetheless, has renewed interest among retail players in one of crypto’s key markets.
In fact, new data suggests that South Korean investors are staging a comeback.
Korean Risk Appetite
Data shared by CryptoQuant revealed that the Korea Premium recently flipped positive after recording its longest period of negative readings. The analytics platform added that this shift from negative to positive territory “has typically been followed by a positive trend.”
The gap between BTC prices on Korean exchanges and global markets is known as the “kimchi premium” and is widely viewed as an important indicator to gauge retail investor sentiment across Asia and local market demand.
Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, stated,
“Korean retail tends to buy aggressively in risk-on phases and capital controls mean that buying shows up as a price gap rather than arbitrage flow. Historically, discount-to-premium crossings have preceded stronger bitcoin returns over the following weeks.”
Bitcoin ETF Road Ahead
But while retail demand appears to be returning, access to regulated Bitcoin investment products remains limited in the country. CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju believes that the next stage of BTC’s current cycle could be driven by institutional demand and exchange-traded funds outside the US. It is important to note that South Korea still lacks a spot Bitcoin ETF, while retail investors cannot buy foreign ETFs and local companies cannot open exchange accounts to purchase BTC.
According to Young Ju, the market has so far been largely shaped by US adoption, but institutional participation could expand across the world through deeper stablecoin liquidity and real-world asset infrastructure.
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A July report by CryptoPotato revealed that Japan is getting closer to allowing Bitcoin ETFs, as the country gears up for its first product, potentially launching in 2028 if planned regulatory changes move ahead. Lawmakers had approved amendments that bring crypto assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, while the Financial Services Agency is working on changes to investment-fund rules that would allow investment trusts and ETFs to hold digital assets directly.
If approved, a spot Bitcoin ETF would give investors in Asia a simpler way to gain exposure to BTC. The development could be particularly relevant for South Korea, where Japan’s financial policy has often served as a reference point.
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