FAQ

What is the kimchi premium?

The difference between what a dollar token costs in won on Korean exchanges and what the official exchange rate says a dollar is worth, in percentage points.

Why can't arbitrage close it?

Closing it means buying abroad and selling in Korea, or the reverse, and moving won across the border. A Korean resident can wire about USD 100,000 a year abroad without supporting documents, so the trade has a ceiling and the gap survives.

Who decides the settlement value?

Arithmetic on public data. A bonded reporter posts it, anyone can dispute it within six hours with the same data, and a disputed value is recomputed by the market's arbiters.

Can I lose more than I put in?

No. Each side locks its whole possible loss at entry, and the band clips the settlement.

Can I be liquidated?

No. The program has no liquidation engine.

Why USDT and not bitcoin?

Over 200 days the two premiums moved with a correlation of 0.998. The USDT leg carries the gap itself without bitcoin's own price swings.

What does it cost?

10 bps of the pair's full collateral per side, $0.10 per contract, plus Solana network fees.

When do series expire?

Fridays at 16:00 UTC, after the ECB publishes its daily reference rate.

Can I exit before expiry?

Yes, by taking the opposite side in the same series. Your result locks in at that moment, and the margin comes back to you at the weekly settlement.

Is HWAN a Korean company?

HWAN is a permissionless protocol on Solana. It touches no won, holds no one's fiat and has no Korean entity. Korean law bans domestic crypto derivatives for retail traders.