[NEWS] Bitcoin exceeds 100 million won for the first time in South Korea; cryptocurrency trading volume exceeds stock market

It was reported that the trading volume at cryptocurrency exchanges in Korea exceeded that of the country's stock market on the 10th.

According to reports, cryptocurrency trading volume recorded 11.8 trillion won (approximately 1.32 trillion yen). This exceeded the 11.47 trillion won (approximately 1.28 trillion yen) trading volume on the stock market in Korea on the 8th.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) also exceeded 100 million won (approximately 11.2 million yen) for the first time in history. At the time of writing, it was being traded at about 101.5 million won (approximately 11.4 million yen) on Upbit, a major cryptocurrency exchange in Korea. At the beginning of the year, it was being traded at about 57 million won (approximately 6.4 million yen).

When converted to Japanese yen, the cryptocurrency prices at Korean cryptocurrency exchanges and other countries are currently diverging. The rate in Korea is high, but this is due to the country's unique "kimchi premium."

Kimchi premium refers to the price difference between cryptocurrency exchanges in Korea and other countries. According to the Korea Premium Index, which indexes this price difference, the difference between cryptocurrency exchanges in Korea and other countries is about 10%. This figure is the highest in two years.

In Korea, the ruling party and the People's Power Party are showing their intention to focus on cryptocurrency policy, and there are positive moves in handling Bitcoin spot ETFs. In light of this situation, the movement of individual investors is particularly noticeable.

Derivatives market is also wary of overheating

Bitcoin has reached a major milestone of 100 million won in Korea, but there are also movements to be wary of the growing overheating of this market.

The overheating of the market is also reflected in the numbers in the derivatives market. The open interest of Bitcoin derivatives traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), an exchange for institutional investors, reached a record high of 1 billion dollars (about 147.5 billion yen). CME's market share in the Bitcoin derivatives market is equivalent to 25%.

In addition, the number of settlement contracts at cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and OKX also reached an all-time high. If open interest increases, market volatility will increase and sudden fluctuations may occur.

On the other hand, US Bitcoin spot ETFs are still in high demand, and in particular, the Bitcoin held by BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company, reached 196,065 BTC as of the 8th. This is a level that exceeds that of MicroStrategy, the US company that holds the most Bitcoin as a single company.

Reference:Report
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