Bitcoin has continued its steady ascent, with the asset now trading above $103,000. This marks a 0.4% decrease over the last 24 hours and more than 20% over the past month. While the rally has reaffirmed bullish sentiment in broader markets, recent data points to a shift in the sources driving this momentum.

A CryptoQuant analyst has observed a growing disparity between regional and global market behavior, especially regarding the price of Bitcoin across different exchanges.

Upward Momentum as Global Investors Take the Lead

CryptoQuant analyst Avocado Onchain recently analyzed a key metric known as the “Korea Premium,” which tracks the price difference between Bitcoin on Korean exchanges and international platforms. Despite Bitcoin’s rising market price, the Korea Premium has been on a consistent downward trend.

This suggests the ongoing rally is largely being driven by institutional flows and investor sentiment in markets outside Korea, rather than from the historically active Korean retail segment.

In previous cycles, particularly in 2017 and 2021, South Korean exchanges often traded BTC at a premium due to local demand surges, sometimes up to 20% higher than international prices. These periods were typically seen as signals of retail-driven euphoria.

Avocado explains that this change in market dynamics reflects a new phase of capital distribution in the crypto space. With spot Bitcoin ETFs now operational in the US, and growing interest from corporations and even sovereign wealth entities, a larger share of trading activity is being driven by institutional strategies rather than retail speculation.

This is reflected in the subdued Korea Premium, which failed to spike even as BTC crossed major resistance levels in recent months.

Institutional Activity Redefines Bitcoin’s Market Drivers

According to Avocado, even if a rebound occurs, any Korea Premium near 10%—once considered modest—should now be interpreted as elevated. The absence of excessive domestic premiums highlights that Asian retail is no longer setting the pace in Bitcoin markets.

Instead, global institutional actors, armed with new vehicles like ETFs and custodial platforms, appear to be the primary drivers of demand. This shift is significant because it may signal more sustained and less volatile growth for Bitcoin, in contrast to previous boom-and-bust cycles fueled by retail enthusiasm.

Avocado’s observations suggest a maturation of the crypto market. With retail sentiment lagging and institutional interest rising, Bitcoin’s price trajectory may now be more responsive to global macroeconomic events, policy shifts, and capital allocation trends from major asset managers.

This evolving dynamic could also change how traders interpret volume spikes and volatility, especially as retail signals like the Korea Premium lose some of their predictive power.

Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView