Filecoin’s FIL token (FIL-USD) just exploded 30% overnight — and it’s all thanks to South Korea. Upbit, the country’s biggest crypto exchange, listed FIL trading pairs Friday morning, and the token took off like a shot.
Upbit Listing Launches FIL to $3.49 Before Cooling
Trading kicked off at 07:30 UTC, according to a tweet from Upbit, with the FIL/KRW pair going live. That one move sent the token soaring from $2.71 to $3.49 before easing back to around $3.00. As of now, FIL is still holding strong — and daily volume spiked 68% to hit $303 million.
That’s a massive jolt for a token that’s been mostly quiet in recent weeks. And it’s not just the listing itself that did the heavy lifting.
“Kimchi Premium” Gives FIL an Extra Boost
Tokens on South Korean exchanges often trade higher than elsewhere. That’s because strict financial controls in the country make it hard for capital to flow freely in and out — which limits arbitrage opportunities. Fewer people can profit off the price difference, so the local demand stays hot.
That’s what’s known as the “Kimchi Premium” — and it’s alive and well. Traders saw it in action Friday as FIL briefly traded far above global exchange prices.
Filecoin Pumps as Broader Market Stalls Ahead of Jobs Data
The broader crypto market has been in a cautious mood. Whales have been selling off tokens like SOL ahead of U.S. jobs data, and Bitcoin has struggled to hold its footing. But FIL’s sudden rally is a reminder that exchange-specific catalysts still matter — especially in regions with intense retail interest like Korea.
Filecoin powers decentralized storage, letting users rent out unused disk space. It’s not a meme coin. But Friday’s surge looked like something from 2021.
Whether FIL can hold these gains will depend on follow-through volume — and whether Korean interest sticks around once the hype settles. But for now, the spike’s real, and it’s all Upbit’s doing.
At the time of writing, FIL is sitting at $2.76.
