Risk and sentiment
USDT Kimchi Premium
The premium of Upbit's USDT/KRW price over the USD/KRW exchange rate. With less coin-specific supply-demand noise than the Bitcoin kimchi premium, it is the purer measure of won money paying up to enter the crypto market.
USDT Kimchi Premium latest observations
- Observed
- 2026-10-28
- Latest
- 0.23 %
- Change from previous
- ▼ -0.40 pp
Check the observation dates in both the summary and chart; release and refresh times can differ.
At a glance
USDT Kimchi Premium: latest value and prior change
As of 2026-10-27, USDT Kimchi Premium is 0.70 %. It is 0.30 pp lower than 1.00 % on 2026-10-26.
Across 250 available observations from 2026-02-20 to 2026-10-27, the latest value is at the tie-adjusted 71st percentile.
- Observed on
- Default comparison window
- 2026-02-20–2026-10-27
- Observations · observed cadence
- 250 · Daily
- Data source
- Upbit / Yahoo Finance
A high or low percentile does not by itself make the indicator positive, negative, or a buy or sell signal.
2026-08-29 → 2026-10-27 · %
- First
- 0.76 %
- 2026-08-29
- Latest
- 0.70 %
- 2026-10-27
- Window low
- -1.58 %
- 2026-09-21
- Window high
- 2.38 %
- 2026-10-08
The horizontal axis follows observation order; calendar intervals may differ. High and low refer to observed values within this window, not intraday or all-time extremes. Ties show the first observation date.
Time-series chart
USDT Kimchi Premium
2026-02-20–2026-10-27
Long-history series are stored as real provider observations. Index, FX, VIX, and ratio charts use historical backfill where providers expose it; Korean investor flow and margin-credit feeds expand as stable historical endpoints become available.
Recent observations and calculated changes
The ten latest chart observations. Change subtracts the previous observation; intervals vary with holidays, release schedules and missing data. A difference in rates or ratios is not an investment return.
| Observed | Value | Previous date | Difference (current − previous) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-27 | 0.70 % | 2026-10-26 | -0.30 %p |
| 2026-10-26 | 1.00 % | 2026-10-25 | 0.02 %p |
| 2026-10-25 | 0.98 % | 2026-10-24 | -0.23 %p |
| 2026-10-24 | 1.21 % | 2026-10-23 | 0.00 %p |
| 2026-10-23 | 1.21 % | 2026-10-22 | 0.23 %p |
| 2026-10-22 | 0.98 % | 2026-10-21 | 0.57 %p |
| 2026-10-21 | 0.41 % | 2026-10-20 | -0.13 %p |
| 2026-10-20 | 0.53 % | 2026-10-19 | -0.59 %p |
| 2026-10-19 | 1.13 % | 2026-10-18 | 0.19 %p |
| 2026-10-18 | 0.94 % | 2026-10-17 | 0.12 %p |
Source: Upbit / Yahoo Finance
Interpretation guide
The USDT kimchi premium: the pure measure of won-money pressure
The USDT kimchi premium divides Upbit's Tether price by the USD/KRW rate. The Bitcoin kimchi premium mixes in the coin's own global-versus-domestic flows, but Tether is pegged — the coin factor drops out. What remains is exactly the premium won money pays to enter crypto.
What it means
A positive premium means more won trying to get into crypto than out, bidding up the dollar proxy. Korea's capital controls limit the arbitrage that would close the gap, which is what makes the premium persistent and informative.
- A widening premium signals accelerating domestic retail inflow into crypto.
- The premium flipping negative marks a net-outflow phase for domestic money.
- Its gap to the Bitcoin kimchi premium sizes the coin-specific flow factor.
Interpretation rules
As a gauge of extremes in domestic risk appetite, trend turns and extreme readings matter more than the level. The moment a surge peaks and rolls over has often marked the inflection of domestic crypto overheating.
- A premium holding above 2-3% flags domestic demand overheating.
- Right after sharp FX moves, reporting lag can distort the premium briefly.
- A premium surge plus exploding won altcoin turnover raises the overheating signal's credibility.
How to apply it
Use it as a thermometer of domestic liquidity and risk appetite rather than a trading signal. Its extremes are a cross-section of where Korean retail speculative money sits, beyond crypto itself.
- In overheated-premium phases, note the effective cost of new domestic crypto entries is high.
- A sharp premium rollover is an early signal of domestic risk-appetite retreat.
- Read it with equity retail gauges — investor deposits, margin balances — to trace the money's path.