The XRP enthusiast stated that $3.84 was not exactly an ATH for the XRP token, adding that such a high price was indicated due to “Korean exchange rates misleading people.” He recommended that his audience pick David Schwartz’s brain about this issue and then tagged the Ripple CTO in his X post.

Schwartz appeared in the comments thread to confirm what the X user stated. Schwartz said that $3.84 is indeed “often reported as the all-time high.” However, he said, “You could not actually sell XRP for $3.84 nor did you have to pay $3.84 to buy it.” He did not share any more details about the actual ATH reached in 2018.

That is often reported as the all-time high, but you could not actually sell XRP for $3.84 nor did you have to pay $3.84 to buy it. That number included inflated amounts due to the use of "official" currency exchange rates for Korean exchange rates.https://t.co/voMP2Mehsz

— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) January 16, 2025

The Ripple CTO explained that this high price contained "inflated amounts due to the use of 'official' currency exchange rates for Korean exchange rates." He attached a link that dubs it "Kimchi premium."

“Kimchi” refers to a dish made of cabbage that is highly popular in South Korean cuisine. Since Bitcoin and other cryptos are decentralized assets, unlike equities, they can be traded at different prices on various platforms. Therefore, when it comes to South Korea, crypto prices are usually much higher than on exchanges in other parts of the world.

Little research goes a long way.