Asia’s Bitcoin Ignition: Fueling the Next Bull Run?

Analysis of cryptocurrency market trends reveals that Asia is currently generating higher investment returns compared to both the United States and the European Union. According to an expert speaking with Decrypt, the U.S. market continues to exert significant influence on the overall direction of the existing market uptrend, in spite of the differences in returns.

Data from Velo indicates that over the last twelve months, returns in the Asian trading session have approached 47%. The United States and the European Union, by contrast, have generated returns of approximately 31% and 29% respectively.

Bitget’s chief analyst, Ryan Lee, shared with Decrypt that this trend is driven by “a significant surge of 69% in APAC trading activity year-over-year, reaching $2.36 trillion by mid-2025.” He attributes this growth primarily to regulatory developments in Hong Kong, which are encouraging broader adoption by both institutions and stablecoins.

Jeffrey Ding, the head analyst at HashKey Group, suggested to Decrypt that the distinction in investment outcomes between Asian and Western markets stems from variations in the origins of invested funds. He stated that institutional investment continues to predominate in the United States and Europe, whereas “Asian markets maintain a larger proportion of retail participation, resulting in greater volatility and a stronger element of speculation.”

The Kimchi premium, as monitored by CryptoQuant, has generally stayed positive for the last year, apart from some brief drops around late November 2024 and during the middle of the third quarter of 2025. This indicator, whose nickname refers to a well-known Korean dish, calculates the extra amount that investors are paying for digital assets on South Korean trading platforms like Upbit and Bithumb, when compared to worldwide platforms like Coinbase, Binance, and Bybit.

Referring to the shift in liquidity towards Asia, Lee pointed out that the rise in the Kimchi premium, along with a decrease in the reserve ratio between U.S. and international exchanges, has solidified the position of Asian platforms like Binance, Bybit, and Bitget.

This development might help support Asia’s overall investment gains and dominance, potentially contributing to a stronger second half of the current market boom.

Ding, however, presented a contrasting point of view, suggesting that the Asian trading session is amplifying the Bitcoin bull market, which he views as “an outcome of U.S. policies and optimistic liquidity expectations,” and is further shaped by global dollar supply, decisions made by the Federal Reserve, and local regulatory environments.

He further stated that all of these elements will influence the length of the current cycle.

While the rapid increase in speculative trading from Asia could briefly lead to adjustments in the U.S. and EU markets, Ding added that this activity may not be sufficient to “fundamentally change the overall direction of long-term institutional investments.”

According to CoinGecko data, Bitcoin has risen by 0.4% over the past 24 hours and is now trading at $113,000, as it tries to recover following a wave of liquidations on Monday.