Cryptocurrency Prices Spike on South Korean Exchange

Talking Points

- South Korean traders pile into Ripple (XRP), Qtum (QTUM) and Ethereum (ETH) at inflated prices.

- Bitcoin trades as high as $23,000, nearly $4,000 higher than its previous peak.

South Korean Cryptocurrencies Trade at a Massive Premium.

Traders in South Korea are paying a huge premium for a wide range of digital coins sending most coins to new highs. While traders in South Korea normally pay a small premium to other exchanges, due mainly to liquidity issues and the strict control on capital movement, the prices recorded overnight dwarfed other premiums paid. Ripple (XRP) traded at an average price of $3.93, Ethereum (ETH) traded at $1,786 while Bitcoin (BTC) hit a peak of $23,146. This compares to current levels of XRP $2.62, ETH $1,195 and BTC $15,980. Ripple has seen the widest price divergence over the weekend, in part to due to a Twitter spat between the company and a New York Times journalist questioning the adoption by banks of the digital currency.

Cryptocurrency Prices at South Korean Exchange Bithumb – January 8, 2018

Bitcoin Technicals Point to Lower Prices

A look at the latest BTC chart shows the recent strong uptrend has been broken and prices may fall back to a cluster of recent lows going all the way back down to around $11,700.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Chart Daily Timeframe (November 11, 2017 – January 8, 2018)

Bitcoin Resources

If you are interested in trading Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash or Ethereum check out Introduction to Bitcoin Trading Guide.

--- Written by Nick Cawley, Analyst.

To contact Nick, email him at nicholas.cawley@ig.com

Follow Nick on Twitter @nickcawley1