On December 26th, CryptoQuant analyst Joo Hyun Ryu wrote that during the recent market downturn, speculative short-term holders increased their exposure to Bitcoin, especially driven by demand from South Korea. The "kimchi premium", which measures the price difference between Korean exchanges and other exchanges, reached a local high of 5.12, indicating strong local demand. The rising interest of Korean investors in purchasing Bitcoin indicates an optimistic outlook for the cryptocurrency in the region, despite mixed signals in the global market.

Earlier news revealed that Korean cryptocurrency investors exceeded 15 million in November. According to data submitted by the Bank of Korea, as of the end of November, a total of 15.59 million Koreans had accounts on the country's five largest cryptocurrency exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and GOPAX).