What Is the Kimchi Premium? Meaning, Calculation and How to Read It (Beginner's Guide)

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The kimchi premium is the percentage that shows how much more (or less) the same coin costs on Korean exchanges than on overseas exchanges. It is one of the first indicators people check when looking at the crypto market.

At a glance

• Positive (+): the Korean price is higher than the converted overseas price.
• Negative (-): the Korean price is lower than the converted overseas price. This is also called a reverse premium.

How it is calculated

Kimchi premium (%) = (Korean exchange price ÷ (overseas exchange USDT price × USD/KRW exchange rate) − 1) × 100

Example (made-up numbers): if Bitcoin is 100,000,000 KRW in Korea, 70,000 USDT overseas and the exchange rate is 1,400 KRW, the converted overseas price is 98,000,000 KRW, so the premium is about +2.04%.

How CoinGaja calculates it

• The reference exchange is Binance. We compare Korean exchange prices with Binance's USDT market price multiplied by the USD/KRW exchange rate. (Exchange rate basis)
• We also offer a Tether basis, which uses Upbit's Tether (USDT) price.
• The Korean exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Digital X (formerly Korbit)) are represented by their median value, so that one exchange's odd value does not skew the result.
• Prices refresh about every 3 seconds. When a price is stale or abnormal, we show - instead of a number.

Why does it happen?

Price gaps are known to appear when buying demand in Korea surges, when moving money abroad takes time or is restricted, and when exchange rates or trading conditions differ between exchanges. The exact cause differs from period to period.

Check it now

• See the kimchi premium by coin and by exchange in the price table on the home page.
• In the kimchi premium list of all coins, you can sort by trading value or by highest premium.
• To be notified at a level you choose, use kimchi premium alerts.
• For what each column of the table means, see How to Read the CoinGaja Price Table; for what to watch when reading the numbers, see Reading the Kimchi Premium.

※ CoinGaja's prices and kimchi premium are for reference only and are not investment advice. Investment decisions and their results are the user's own responsibility.