Coin Metrics: Global cryptocurrency trading trends show regional and seasonal patterns

According to analysis by Coin Metrics and its analyst Victor Ramirez, cryptocurrency trading exhibits clear regional and seasonal patterns influenced by the regulatory environment, user preferences, and market dynamics. For example, Ramirez explained that the “Kimchi Premium” phenomenon reflects the difference between cryptocurrency prices in the South Korean market and the global weighted average price, which is driven by capital controls and local demand. South Korea’s regulatory barriers limit arbitrage opportunities for international investors, and these restrictions lead to price volatility. Coin Metrics’ findings show that trading activity follows seasonal and regional patterns. Exchanges such as Bithumb and Upbit show peak activity during the East Asian hours, while US platforms such as Coinbase and Gemini favor the US time zone. Binance has a wider coverage area and has increased activity during the European hours. “Binance’s East Asian hours volume fell 12.1% from its average $802 million volume, but its European hours volume increased 19.4%,” the report detailed. In addition, certain assets show regional preferences. For example, XRP, XLM, and ADA are more actively traded during the East Asian hours, while BTC and ETH are more actively traded in the European and US time zones.