As Ethereum (ETH) steadily approaches its all-time excessive (ATH), some trade leaders imagine that the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization just isn’t solely benefiting from natural demand. Slightly, it’s being “propped up” by Korean traders trying to make a fast buck.
Ethereum Being Held Up By Korean Traders?
In an X publish earlier immediately, crypto entrepreneur Samson Mow made some fascinating observations on ETH’s present value trajectory. The crypto government attributed ETH’s present heightened value to Korean retail traders.
Particularly, Mow said 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 stated ETH traders aren’t totally conscious of the ETH/BTC chart, and are below the misunderstanding that they’re shopping for the “subsequent Technique.” He cautioned that it’ll not finish effectively for ETH traders.
To recall, Technique is the main public firm in the case of the quantity of Bitcoin (BTC) held on its stability sheet. In accordance with knowledge from Coingecko, Technique at the moment holds 640,031 BTC, price greater than $48 billion at prevailing market costs.
In terms of 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 checklist.
There are a number of indicators that the Ethereum buying and selling market in South Korea could also be reaching overbought ranges. As an example, the ETH “Kimchi premium” surged to 1.93 on October 5, a major surge from -2.06 noticed in July 2025 when the cryptocurrency traded under $3,000.
For the uninitiated, the Kimchi premium refers back to the value distinction the place cryptocurrencies commerce at increased costs on South Korean exchanges in comparison with international markets. This premium arises from sturdy native demand, restricted capital circulation out of Korea, and regulatory obstacles that stop simple arbitrage between Korean and worldwide exchanges.
On-Chain Knowledge Counsel Robust Demand For ETH
In distinction to Mow’s opinion, on-chain knowledge exhibits that each institutional and retail demand for ETH just 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 rising quantity of inflows. Just lately, US-based spot ETH ETFs attracted report 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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