Bithumb Re-Ups Sign-Ups, But Their ‘Airdrop Season’ May Be Affecting BTC More
September 2, 2018 by William Peaster
Some in the cryptoverse have noted that BTC/KRW trades have seen a sharp uptick upon Bithumb, South Korea’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, re-opening new user registrations on September 1st. On the flip side, others have argued the spike is from Bithumb’s now ongoing “Airdrop Season,” which would be, well, a less sexy explanation than the metaphorical “dam” breaking over new traders signing up.
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Bithumb’s New Registrations Coincide with ‘Airdrop Season’
Bithumb, which had previously shuttered registrations after a painful $30 million USD hack in July 2018, has re-opened registrations for new users as of September 1st.
The greenlighting of new sign-ups has coincided with an acute spike in won trades into bitcoin while the OG cryptocurrency has also seen acute support seemingly accumulate globally over $7,000 dollars.
#bithumb re-opens new subscriptions and look what happens to Korean Won volumes. This is the marginal new “REAL” flow and what will pressure the shorts pic.twitter.com/6BLcxvhQyv
— Jonathan Cheesman (@JonathanCheesm4) September 2, 2018
Several pundits in the space highlighted the BTC/KRW boon. Crypto correspondent Joseph Young likewise emphasized that Bithumb had just had its partnership with the powerhouse and agriculturally-minded Nonghyup Bank restored.
Volume of Korea’s crypto market is rising, fueled by the resumption of registrations by Bithumb.
More importantly, a major bank (NH Bank) decided to restore its partnership with Bithumb, which it previously rejected citing security and regulatory issues.https://t.co/dUoi20hBjT
— Joseph Young (@iamjosephyoung) September 2, 2018
As such, Bithumb’s opening of new sign-ups led many to link the BTC/KRW trading surge as mainly the result of the crypto heavyweight Bithumb’s “back on” status. However, others have argued Bithumb’s ongoing fee-minded campaign is the actual cause of the recent won-into-bitcoin uptick.
Is ‘Airdrop Season’ Behind the BTC/KRW Climb?
Bithumb is currently facilitating its so-called “Super Airdrop Festival.” In Season 1 of the festivities, Bithumb traders are being refunding 120 percent of their trading fees in a limited-time offer.
Some users in the Twittersphere, like @loomdart, have speculated that the BTC/KRW spike is not directly from the top South Korean exchange’s re-opening but rather moreso from their ongoing Airdrop Season campaign, wherein traders are literally, albeit temporarily, being paid to trade.
Ahhh, seems to be related to this: https://t.co/OEDNTlFzS7
Notice the highlighted part in the 4th image… so ironic pic.twitter.com/dPhRkwDjvh
— loomdart (@loomdart) September 2, 2018
The campaign is the exchange’s latest pivot to attract, and keep, more customers. In a related effort, the South Korean powerhouse had previously announced the launch of its own token, Bithumb Coin, back in April 2018.
What’s your take? Do you think the leading South Korean exchange has a major role to play in the space going forward? Sound off in the comments below.
Images via Bithumb, Pixabay
