- The XRP/KRW trading pair became the most traded on South Korea’s largest exchange, Upbit.
- On Bithumb, XRP pulled around $41 million in volume, second only to the USDT/KRW pair.
- In April, XRP was the most actively traded among 15 major altcoins on Upbit and Bithumb.
XRP trading has overtaken Bitcoin and Ethereum on major South Korean exchanges, with the XRP/KRW pair becoming the most traded pair on Upbit, the country’s largest exchange.
CoinGecko’s data shows that XRP trading volume on Upbit reached roughly $110.9 million in 24 hours, surpassing Bitcoin’s $88.6 million and Ethereum’s $67 million. On Bithumb, XRP pulled around $41 million in volume, placing it second only to the USDT/KRW pair.
This is noteworthy because South Korean traders have long been key drivers of altcoin hype. XRP, in particular, has had an extremely loyal following in the country for years.
The recent spike is not an isolated event, as recent market data has consistently shown XRP leading Korean trading charts all through 2026. For instance, back in April, XRP was leading trading among 15 big altcoins on Upbit and Bithumb, beating out Solana and Dogecoin. Another April report said XRP had already topped Bitcoin in 24‑hour volume on Upbit.
There’s a bigger picture behind the numbers. Analysts note that South Korea’s market is very retail‑driven, and altcoins make up most of the trading action there. Kaiko’s recent data reveals that the Korean won now makes up almost 30% of global spot crypto volume, second only to the US dollar.
Still No Meaningful Breakthrough for XRP
Despite the positive developments, XRP’s price still hasn’t moved much. XRP was trading around $1.45 on the two exchanges, up roughly 2-3% for the week. That’s better than Bitcoin, but weaker than BNB and SOL, both up around 8%.
According to CoinMarketCap, XRP has seen an approximately 10% increase over the last 30 days. While this is good news, the price is still notably lower than at the start of this year.
Interestingly, even with XRP spiking, South Korea’s overall crypto market has cooled down compared to the peaks of late 2024.
Recent industry data shows daily trading volume on exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb has dropped sharply (more than 50%) over the past year. That makes XRP’s strong showing stand out even more against a weaker overall market.
Related: XRP Holds Long-Term Support as Analysts Compare Setup With AMZN
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