As Ethereum (ETH) steadily approaches its all-time excessive (ATH), some business leaders consider that the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization isn’t fully benefiting from natural demand. Slightly, it’s being “propped up” by Korean traders seeking to make a fast buck.
Ethereum Being Held Up By Korean Traders?
In an X put up earlier immediately, crypto entrepreneur Samson Mow made some attention-grabbing observations on ETH’s present value trajectory. The crypto government attributed ETH’s present heightened value to Korean retail traders.
Particularly, Mow acknowledged that roughly $6 billion price of Korean retail capital is supporting Ethereum costs. Mow blamed ETH influencers who’re reportedly touring to South Korea to market the digital asset to retail traders.
As well as, the founding father of AQUA Pockets mentioned ETH traders aren’t totally conscious of the ETH/BTC chart, and are underneath the misunderstanding that they’re shopping for the “subsequent Technique.” He cautioned that it’ll not finish properly for ETH traders.
To recall, Technique is the main public firm in terms of the quantity of Bitcoin (BTC) held on its steadiness sheet. In response to information from Coingecko, Technique at the moment holds 640,031 BTC, price greater than $48 billion at prevailing market costs.
Relating to Ethereum-based treasury companies, BitMine leads the pack, holding greater than 2.5 million ETH price roughly $12.4 billion. Different companies like SharpLink Gaming (838,728 ETH), Coinbase ((136,782 ETH), Bit Digital (120,306 ETH), and ETHZilla (102,246 ETH) spherical up the highest 5 within the record.
There are a number of indicators that the Ethereum buying and selling market in South Korea could also be reaching overbought ranges. As an illustration, the ETH “Kimchi premium” surged to 1.93 on October 5, a big surge from -2.06 noticed in July 2025 when the cryptocurrency traded beneath $3,000.
For the uninitiated, the Kimchi premium refers back to the value distinction the place cryptocurrencies commerce at larger costs on South Korean exchanges in comparison with world markets. This premium arises from sturdy native demand, restricted capital stream out of Korea, and regulatory boundaries that stop simple arbitrage between Korean and worldwide exchanges.
On-Chain Information Recommend Sturdy Demand For ETH
In distinction to Mow’s opinion, on-chain information exhibits that each institutional and retail demand for ETH isn’t exhibiting any indicators of slowing down. BitMine continues to stack ETH regardless of it buying and selling near its ATH territory.
On the similar time, ETH-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) proceed to draw an growing quantity of inflows. Lately, US-based spot ETH ETFs attracted document inflows price $547 million. At press time, ETH trades at $4,701, up 4.4% previously 24 hours.
Featured picture from Unsplash.com, chart from TradingView.com
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