Bitcoin And XRP Crashed Amid South Korea Martial Law Chaos, Creating Kimchi Premium Arbitrage Opportunity

Bitcoin and XRP plunged on South Korean crypto exchanges yesterday after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, creating arbitrage opportunities for savvy investors.

Despite the martial law order only lasting a few hours, panic selling due to the political turbulence was enough to push Bitcoin’s value down 33% to $61,200 on South Korean exchange Upbit. XRP  also shed more than half of its value during the same period.

Martial Law Declaration Forces Kimchi Premium To An All-Time Low

South Korean exchanges are often watched for spot arbitrage opportunities. Traders try to capitalize on the Kimchi premium, which refers to the difference in crypto prices between South Korean and US exchanges. 

Korean-based CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju commented on the political scuffle, and said in a Dec. 3 X post that the Bitcoin kimchi premium hit an all-time low.

After Korean parliament members nullified the president’s martial law declaration within hours, the Bitcoin Kimchi premium returned “back to normal,” Young Ju said in a follow-up X post .

Crypto Whales Capitalize On Massive Price Differences

Some crypto whales took advantage of the Kimchi premium yesterday. On-chain analytics firm Lookonchain noted that many large crypto holders transferred substantial amounts of Tether (USDT) to Upbit. Just 1 hour after the president’s declaration, whales sent over $163 million to the South Korean exchange, according to Lookonchain.

The BTC/KRW pair stands at 135,300,000 on Upbit as of 2:50 a.m. EST. In dollar terms, the leading crypto is trading at $95,735,44 on Upbit, while CoinMarketCap data shows the crypto’s value is at $96,567.15.

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