Bitcoin continues roaring ahead

The world's largest crypto currency Bitcoin continued making considerable advances on the exchanges with its price reaching around $8200 - and it seems to be well supported at this price. This is notwithstanding the situation with the other crypto currencies also rising to all times. Ethereum has been rising inexorably and appears to be reaching the fabled $500 mark shortly. Bitcoin Cash also saw an incredible rise lately, even rising to the $1800 mark although it dropped back to $1600 after a few hours.

Ever since the post-SegWit2x cancellation bitcoin cash pump, there have been rumors that BCH advocates would mount another rally - perhaps on November 23, when U.S. investors and traders would be less active in the markets due to the Thanksgiving holiday. That theory was proved correct, though not to the degree that many expected.

The bitcoin cash price climbed nearly $600 - from $1,200 on Wednesday to $1,800 on Thursday - before pulling back to a present value of $1,658. This nevertheless represents an eight percent day-over-day increase and brings the BCH market cap to $27.9 billion.

However, contrary to the last bitcoin cash pump, this one did not come at the expense of bitcoin. The bitcoin price did give investors a brief scare by temporarily falling below the $8,000 mark, but it quickly recovered and actually tested its all-time high on several exchanges.

At present, the bitcoin price is trading at a global average of $8,260, which translates into a $137.9 billion market cap.

Ethereum Price Reaches Record $420

Bitcoin's resilience is even more impressive given that bitcoin cash was not the only top-tier cryptocurrency that threatened to funnel capital away from bitcoin to fuel its own surge. The ethereum price mounted a rally of its own, punching through the $400 level for the first time since June. The ethereum price ultimately rose as high as $425 - a new all-time high - and is currently trading just below that level, at $420.

Premium Emerges in South Korea When Bitcoin Price Rises

Historically, the South Korean bitcoin exchange market has demonstrated high premiums amidst strong bitcoin rallies. A surge in the price of bitcoin usually triggers general consumers and investors on major exchanges like Bithumb to invest in bitcoin, even with a substantial premium.

Last week, when the price of bitcoin plummeted from $7,200 to $5,600 and the price of Bitcoin Cash surged from $1,200 to $2,900, Bithumb processed twice as much as daily trades as the South Korean stock market KOSDAQ.

Although South Korea remains as a leading bitcoin market with high liquidity provided by Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit, a sudden surge in demand for bitcoin initiated by an increase in the price of bitcoin triggers investors to buy bitcoin in a short period of time, causing premiums to appear.

Earlier today, when the bitcoin price reached $8,300, bitcoin was being traded at around $8,500 in South Korea. When the price of bitcoin recorded a slight correction and fell to $8,150, the $8,500 price remained in South Korea, as more traders rushed into invest in bitcoin.

JPMorgan and South Korea

The South Korean finance industry tends to follow the trend established by other leading regions like the US and Japan. For instance, the Wall Street Journal's report in regards to JPMorgan's plan to trade bitcoin futures upon the launch of CME's bitcoin futures exchange on December 11, was relayed by nearly every mainstream news publication within South Korea, further increasing the demand for bitcoin from the public.

JPMorgan is the largest investment bank in the world, with a $341 billion market cap. Previously, when JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon falsely claimed that bitcoin is a fraud and that any trader within the firm who initiates in bitcoin trading will be fired, the South Korean finance industry reacted negatively and the demand for bitcoin decreased, until enthusiastic announcements from CME, Man Group, and other major financial institutions were released.

Hence, when the WSJ report was released, the South Korean finance sector along with its cryptocurrency community demonstrated optimism towards the mid-term growth trend of bitcoin. More to that, the report of Choe Heung-sik, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), revealed that the South Korean government will not impose strict regulations on cryptocurrency exchanges in the foreseeable future.

"Though we are monitoring the practice of cryptocurrency trading, we don't have plans right now to directly supervise exchanges. Supervision will come only after the legal recognition of digital tokens as a legitimate currency," said Choe.

It will be interesting to see what happens today with Bitcoin since the price already seems to be rising this morning, reaching highs of $8500 on some exchanges such as eToro. It would also be interesting to note the effect of Black Friday sales on the crypto currency exchanges.