South Korea is becoming a Bitcoin and Ethereum powerhouse in terms of trading volumes, liquidity and activity.Over the past few months, South Korea’s three largest digital currency exchanges Bithumb, Korbit and Coinone have added support for Ethereum traders by integrating Ether.In a relatively short period of time, South Korea has become the largest Ethereum exchange market with a $335 mln daily trading volume and 38 percent market share.In fact, the ETH/KRW pair processes more trades than the ETH/BTC pair, which used to account for over 50 percent of all Ethereum trading.South Korea has also become one of the largest Bitcoin exchange markets in the world.Although South Korea is currently the fourth largest Bitcoin exchange market behind the US, China and Japan, a month ago, its trading volume and market share was larger than China and Japan and secured its spot as the second-largest Bitcoin exchange market for awhile.South Korea is becoming a #bitcoin / #ethereum powerhouse.- Largest Ethereum Exchange Market - /PpshRQhs0P — Joseph Young (@iamjosephyoung) May 27, 2017 South Korean investors within the cryptocurrency market are very easily moved and influenced by the media.

Ethereum’s recent Enterprise Ethereum Alliance deals with large conglomerates such as Toyota and JPMorgan have further validated the value of Ethereum to more local investors and have shifted the trend from Bitcoin to Ethereum.More importantly, because Bitcoin has become a conservative asset amongst other cryptocurrencies, investors in South Korea have started to look into altcoins such as Ethereum and Ripple that are supported by local exchanges.bitcoin to usd 2007Most South Korean exchanges are funded by multi-billion dollar corporations within the country.bitcoin forum nigeriaKorbit, South Korea’s second-largest exchange, is invested by SK Telecom, the largest telecommunications company in the country.o que e moeda bitcoin

Therefore, when exchanges add support for cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Ripple, immediately, investors dive into altcoins.Particularly, investors that believe they missed Bitcoin’s rally invest in altcoins for large short and mid-term gains.The demand toward Bitcoin has increased to the point where there always exists a huge arbitrage opportunity for overseas traders.Bitcoin is being traded in South Korea with a premium price of $2,800.vps via bitcoinThat is a 21 percent premium over the global average price and other major markets such as the US.bitcoin lewebWhile it is still possible to purchase Bitcoin outside of South Korea with other options such as credit cards to avoid premium rates, it is difficult to trade large amounts of Bitcoin without being flagged by anti-money laundering systems.ethereum march 14

If the current growth rate of the South Korean Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange markets can be sustained over the next few months, South Korea could become a powerhouse for both the Bitcoin and Ethereum markets.South Korea, a country of around 50 million residents with a GDP of $2 trillion, seems to have taken a disproportionate interest in ethereum with their main exchange, Bithub, handling more volume than Coinbase’s GDAX.armory bitcoin androidKorean exchanges are handling around $30 million in eth/fiat volumes, twice as much as both GDAX and Kraken combined, leading many to wonder why they have shown so much interest.bitcoin 25000The answer is probably due to a combination of factors.bitcoin 25000The main reason may be because South Korea is big in gaming with a number of reports suggesting that Sony representatives have mentioned ethereum at some of the biggest gaming conferences.

Because of its smart contracts capabilities, ethereum’s platform may be attractive for fantasy games where a football team or a warring group is built in a multiplayer setting.Smart contracts can be used to lay out the rules of the game while the inbuilt currency, eth, can allow the purchasing of in-game assets or for distribution of tournament prizes.Since it is all on a public blockchain, it is difficult to cheat while making the whole process transparent, therefore anyone can be confident there was fair play throughout the game.Another reason may be because South Korea is very advanced technologically, with their robotics somewhat superior.Ethereum’s smart contracts promise to give robots and other machines the ability to autonomously hold, transfer and receive value, thus allowing them to act.As such, it may be the case that South Koreans see the opportunities more clearly while having greater awareness of cutting edge technologies as they pertain to artificial intelligence and robotics related fields.

The above two are probably the main reasons, but a third related factor may be the current political difficulties the country is facing.Following some stupendous revelations that their government was being run by an esoteric cabal, a caretaker government has taken over.In addition, the increased tensions regarding North Korea may have led some to diversify with their preferred choice of digital currency seemingly being eth rather than bitcoin probably because of ethereum’s smart contract capabilities which may make it useful in games settings and for the internet of things.Over the past few weeks, Ethereum has experienced a truly exponential growth in terms of market cap and development community, reaching a market cap of $4.37 bln.According to various sources and market data, the South Korean exchange market has accounted for 17 percent of global Ethereum trading.Companies within the South Korean digital currency and Blockchain industries are rapidly expanding their consumer base across the country.

Interestingly, the majority of clients of Blockchain and digital currency-based startups in South Korea are composed of government-funded organizations, major financial institutions and multi-billion dollar corporations.South Korean corporations and financial institutions are considering the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks as important technologies which are necessary for developing new infrastructures and internal systems to base their operations on.Essentially, local corporations are visioning the creation of an autonomous, secure, transparent and efficient infrastructure which can handle the settlement of transactions, processing of complex data sets and secure sensitive information within a single network.Recently, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country’s top financial regulator, announced that it plans to launch a Blockchain-powered pilot project within this year.Jeong Eun-bo, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, noted that with the introduction of a government-funded Blockchain project, the country intends to lead the Blockchain sector and fintech market on a global scale.

"Blockchain technology has great potential to be used in finance and various other fields.Since South Korea has the world's top-level ICT technology, it will be able to lead the international trend in the Blockchain sector if the government, related industries and experts pool their wisdom."Ethereum is arguably the largest Blockchain network that is focused on the development of decentralized applications and smart contract-based platforms.Unlike the Bitcoin network, which was designed to operate as a peer-to-peer digital cash system and as a digital currency, the Ethereum network was introduced to support a wide range of decentralized applications and provide the community with a more flexible and functionality-focused network for development.On March 24 for instance, popular decentralized storage provider Storj migrated its platform over to the Ethereum network, as Bitcoin’s Blockchain congestion became an issue when it came to processing high fees for its users.Because of the block size debate between Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Unlimited supporters and the threat of miners in China to essentially lead a 51 percent attack on the Bitcoin network, the demand for flexible networks like Ethereum has risen significantly.