Bitcoin is up this month, but one market where it is trading at a notably higher price is South Korea.

The so-called Kimchi Premium — the gap that appears when bitcoin costs more on Korean exchanges — has returned as retail investors move back into the asset. Bloomberg first reported the development, and CoinGecko data shows bitcoin is trading at nearly 1% more on Upbit, South Korea’s largest exchange, than on Binance.

The term is named after a popular dish in the country, and the phenomenon reflects a market that is partly separated from the rest of the world. Bitcoin has historically traded at higher prices in South Korea because of strong local retail demand, combined with strict capital controls and trading regulations.

As a result, the Bitcoin/won trading pair is more common in South Korea than the Bitcoin/U.S. dollar pair used in many other markets. When demand for the asset rises in the country, the price can move higher there than elsewhere.

The premium has been described as a retail FOMO indicator, in part because South Korea has few notable crypto funds and maintains tight capital controls. At its peak in 2022, the premium reached as high as 21.5%, underscoring how sharply local demand can diverge from broader global pricing.

Bitcoin was recently trading at $78,287, unchanged over the past 24 hours. The asset was also at the same level seven days ago, though it has gained 24% over the past month.

The largest digital asset began surging after the U.S. Treasury said in August that it would at least double the size of its liquidity-support buyback operations. That announcement weighed on the dollar, while non-yielding assets such as bitcoin and gold benefited.

President Donald Trump also said during the same week that the long-awaited crypto Clarity Act was an important piece of legislation and urged lawmakers to get it passed.

JUST IN: There's now a 59% chance Bitcoin will be above $82,500 this month, according to Polymarket⁠.com pic.twitter.com/kTYEZsxQvk — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) September 1, 2026

JUST IN: There's now a 59% chance Bitcoin will be above $82,500 this month, according to Polymarket⁠.com pic.twitter.com/kTYEZsxQvk

Crypto industry leaders have repeatedly called for clear rules to distinguish between digital assets that are securities, commodities, or payment stablecoins, and news that regulators will soon have such a framework has often helped crypto markets.

Speculators on Polymarket are now assigning a 59% chance that bitcoin will be above $82,500 this month, a sign that traders are actively pricing short-term outcomes even as the underlying market remains sensitive to policy, liquidity, and exchange-specific demand.

This post, South Korea’s Bitcoin ‘Kimchi Premium’ Returns, first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Mathew Di Salvo.