Aztec Token Jumps 82% After Upbit and Bithumb Add South Korean Trading Pairs
Aztec surged 82% Thursday after South Korea's two biggest exchanges listed the privacy-focused Ethereum layer-2 token.
Quick overview
- Aztec's price surged 82% after being listed on South Korea's major exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb.
- The token reached $0.034422 with a trading volume of $183.9 million, ranking #192 on CoinMarketCap.
- Korean exchanges implemented trading restrictions to stabilize prices, yet AZTEC experienced significant gains.
- The project focuses on privacy for Ethereum smart contracts, utilizing zero-knowledge proofs for various applications.
Aztec surged 82% Thursday after South Korea’s two biggest exchanges listed the privacy-focused Ethereum layer-2 token. Upbit and Bithumb both added Korean won trading pairs, triggering a sharp rally in what’s been a thinly traded market.
AZTEC hit $0.034422 with 24-hour volume exploding to $183.9 million. The token now ranks #192 on CoinMarketCap with a $99 million market cap. Before the Korean listings, Aztec had already launched on Coinbase, Kraken, Bybit, KuCoin, and MEXC on February 12.
Bithumb set trading to start at 4:30 PM local time on February 20 with a reference price of 27.70 KRW. Deposits and withdrawals only work through Ethereum—no other networks are supported. Deposits need 33 block confirmations before they’re credited.
Upbit listed AZTEC against KRW, BTC, and USDT. The exchange put restrictions on the first five minutes of trading—no buy orders allowed. Sell orders outside certain price ranges got temporary limits too. Only limit orders worked for roughly the first two hours.
These restrictions are standard for new listings on Korean exchanges. They’re designed to prevent wild price swings right out of the gate. But even with the guardrails, AZTEC still ripped higher once trading opened.
Korean exchanges drive serious volume for altcoins. Getting listed on both Upbit and Bithumb at the same time gave AZTEC instant access to millions of retail traders. The won-denominated pairs matter because Korean investors can buy directly without converting through dollars or stablecoins first.
Aztec launched its mainnet recently as a privacy layer-2 for Ethereum. The project uses zero-knowledge proofs to enable private smart contracts. Unlike privacy chains like Monero or Zcash that just do private transfers, Aztec lets developers build actual applications with built-in privacy—lending protocols, DEXs, voting systems.
The token launched February 12 across multiple exchanges simultaneously. It saw sharp volatility in the first days, ranking as both a top loser and top layer-2 gainer within 24 hours. That kind of price action shows high speculative interest but also thin liquidity.
Korean retail has a history of pumping altcoins that get local exchange listings. The “kimchi premium” happens when tokens trade higher in Korea than globally. Whether AZTEC holds these gains depends on whether the project delivers on its privacy tech promises.
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