Kimchi Premium Tracker — Korea vs Global Crypto Arbitrage

What does Kimchi Premium Tracker do?

The kimchi premium tracker monitors real-time price differences between South Korean crypto exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb) and the global benchmark (Binance) for 170+ KRW-listed tokens. It automatically calculates the Korea Bitcoin premium — the percentage by which each coin trades higher or lower in Korean markets versus international prices — and delivers a complete ranked snapshot in one run. No API key, no registration required.

The Korean crypto arbitrage spread is one of the most-watched signals in Asia-Pacific crypto markets. This Actor makes it instantly queryable via Apify's dataset API or your own scheduled pipeline.

Why use Kimchi Premium Tracker?

1. Arbitrage signal detection When upbit_premium_pct spikes above a threshold, it may signal a cross-exchange opportunity before it closes. Run on a 15-minute schedule and pipe results into your alert system for real-time Korean crypto arbitrage monitoring.

2. Korean retail sentiment gauge The average Kimchi Premium across all tokens is a well-established leading indicator of South Korean retail FOMO. Rising premium = retail buying pressure; negative premium = local selling or fear. Use it as a market sentiment layer alongside your existing indicators.

3. Token-specific demand research Some tokens show persistent Korean premiums (strong local demand); others show reverse premiums (local distribution). Filter with premiumThreshold and sortBy to isolate tokens with unusual demand patterns before they move on global exchanges.

4. Quantitative backtesting Download the dataset via the Apify API after each scheduled run and feed historical Korea Bitcoin premium snapshots into your backtesting engine to evaluate premium-based trading signals.

5. Alert integration Pipe the structured JSON output into Telegram, Slack, or any webhook to receive instant notifications when premium crosses your defined threshold — all without building your own scraper.

How to use Kimchi Premium Tracker

1. Open the Actor on Apify Store and click Try for free — default settings return the full 170+ token list instantly.
2. (Optional) Set premiumThreshold to filter only tokens above a minimum premium percentage.
3. Choose your sort order: premium_desc (highest premium first), premium_asc, or symbol_asc.
4. Click Start. The Actor fetches live prices from Upbit, Bithumb, and Binance, computes premiums, and saves results to the dataset.
5. Schedule recurring runs (e.g., every 15 minutes) via Apify Scheduler for continuous kimchi premium tracker monitoring.

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
autoDetectAll	boolean	true	Automatically track all KRW-listed coins on Upbit
symbols	string[]	[]	Specific token symbols (used when autoDetectAll is false)
includeUpbit	boolean	true	Include Upbit exchange data
includeBithumb	boolean	true	Include Bithumb exchange data
premiumThreshold	number	0	Minimum absolute premium % to include in results
sortBy	string	premium_desc	Sort order: premium_desc, premium_asc, or symbol_asc

Minimal input (track all tokens, no filters):

{}

Signal-focused input (only tokens with 2%+ premium):

{
  "premiumThreshold": 2.0,
  "sortBy": "premium_desc"
}

Output

One dataset row per token:

{
  "symbol": "BERA",
  "binance_usdt": 0.404,
  "binance_krw_equivalent": 610,
  "upbit_krw": 687.0,
  "upbit_premium_pct": 12.61,
  "upbit_is_reverse": false,
  "bithumb_krw": 616.0,
  "bithumb_premium_pct": 0.98,
  "bithumb_is_reverse": false,
  "upbit_bithumb_spread_pct": 11.53,
  "usd_krw_rate": 1510.03,
  "timestamp": "2026-04-05T05:53:50Z"
}

A SUMMARY record in the Key-Value Store aggregates the full run:

{
  "total_tokens": 177,
  "avg_upbit_premium_pct": 0.43,
  "tokens_with_premium": 112,
  "tokens_with_reverse": 24,
  "top_5_upbit": ["BERA", "STX", "STRAX", "BREV", "BONK"],
  "usd_krw_rate": 1510.03,
  "timestamp": "2026-04-05T05:53:50Z"
}

Data fields

Field	Description
upbit_premium_pct	% premium on Upbit vs Binance (positive = Korean price is higher)
bithumb_premium_pct	% premium on Bithumb vs Binance
upbit_is_reverse	true if Korean price is below global (rare, high signal)
upbit_bithumb_spread_pct	Internal Korean exchange spread between Upbit and Bithumb
binance_krw_equivalent	Binance USD price converted to KRW at live exchange rate
usd_krw_rate	USD/KRW rate used for conversion (fetched live)

Cost estimation

This Actor uses Pay-Per-Event (PPE) pricing:

Scenario	Tokens tracked	Estimated Cost
Full auto-detect run (~177 tokens)	177	~$0.53
Specific 10-token watchlist	10	~$0.03
15-min schedule (full, monthly)	177 × 2,976 runs	~$1,577
Hourly schedule (full, monthly)	177 × 744 runs	~$394

Rate: $0.003 per token tracked.

FAQ

Q: Does this require any API key? No. All data sources (Upbit, Bithumb, Binance, and the USD/KRW rate feed) are public. No registration is needed.

Q: Why are some tokens excluded from results? Tokens with a premium above ±15% are automatically excluded — these typically indicate symbol mismatches (different assets sharing the same ticker). Bithumb maintenance window (KST 01:00–08:00) will also result in missing Bithumb rows during that period.

Q: Can I track only specific tokens instead of all 170+? Yes. Set autoDetectAll: false and provide an explicit list in the symbols field. This reduces cost and run time proportionally.

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Disclaimer: Unofficial. Not affiliated with Upbit, Bithumb, or Binance. For informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Korean crypto arbitrage opportunities involve significant regulatory, execution, and currency risk.

Keywords: kimchi premium tracker, Korea Bitcoin premium, Korean crypto arbitrage, Upbit premium, Bithumb premium, KRW crypto price gap, BTC Korea price, crypto arbitrage signal, Korean exchange sentiment

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Related actors

• Korea Exchange Pulse — KOSPI, KOSDAQ, and full KRW market data for broader Korean financial context
• KOSIS Korea Macro Indicators — Korean CPI and GDP to see how macro conditions relate to kimchi premium levels
• Currency Exchange Tracker — KRW/USD rate to compute USD-equivalent arbitrage profit from kimchi premium

Feedback

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