As Ethereum (ETH) steadily approaches its all-time excessive (ATH), some trade leaders consider that the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization will not be completely benefiting from natural demand. Quite, it’s being “propped up” by Korean traders trying to make a fast buck.
Ethereum Being Held Up By Korean Buyers?
In an X put up earlier at present, crypto entrepreneur Samson Mow made some attention-grabbing observations on ETH’s present worth trajectory. The crypto government attributed ETH’s present heightened worth to Korean retail traders.
Particularly, Mow acknowledged that roughly $6 billion value 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 will not be totally conscious of the ETH/BTC chart, and are underneath the misunderstanding that they’re shopping for the “subsequent Technique.” He cautioned that it’s going to not finish properly 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 keeping with information from Coingecko, Technique at the moment holds 640,031 BTC, value greater than $48 billion at prevailing market costs.
On the subject of Ethereum-based treasury corporations, BitMine leads the pack, holding greater than 2.5 million ETH value roughly $12.4 billion. Different corporations 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 major 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 worth distinction the place cryptocurrencies commerce at larger costs on South Korean exchanges in comparison with world markets. This premium arises from robust native demand, restricted capital movement out of Korea, and regulatory boundaries that forestall simple arbitrage between Korean and worldwide exchanges.
On-Chain Knowledge Counsel Sturdy Demand For ETH
In distinction to Mow’s opinion, on-chain information exhibits that each institutional and retail demand for ETH will not be displaying 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 file inflows value $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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