15 Altcoins Record Surging Trading Volume on South Korean Crypto Exchanges Upbit and Bithumb
Key Takeaways
- •Momentum ($MMT) recorded the highest combined 24-hour trading volume across Upbit and Bithumb at approximately $45.74 million.
- •XRP ranked second among South Korean traders with a combined volume of roughly $26.90 million on the two exchanges.
- •Several lower market-cap altcoins achieved trading volumes approaching or exceeding those of Bitcoin and Ethereum on KRW-denominated pairs.
- •South Korea's real-name account system and VASP framework channel most domestic volume through a small number of compliant exchanges, amplifying localized demand patterns.
- •Outsized volume on Korean exchanges is monitored globally as a potential leading indicator of retail-driven momentum, though such spikes do not always persist internationally.
South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, have seen remarkable trading volumes across a selection of altcoins over the past 24 hours. Investor activity, heavily concentrated in South Korean won (KRW) trading pairs, has driven several lower market-cap altcoins to volumes approaching — and in some cases exceeding — those of major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
South Korea has long been one of the world's most active retail cryptocurrency trading markets. Upbit, operated by Dunamu, consistently ranks among the highest-volume exchanges globally and regularly accounts for the lion's share of domestic trading activity, while Bithumb remains another major platform serving Korean traders. Under South Korea's real-name account system and Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) regulatory framework enforced by the Financial Services Commission, only exchanges partnering with local banks can offer KRW fiat on-ramps — a structure that channels most domestic volume through a small number of compliant platforms and amplifies the visibility of localized demand patterns. The dominance of KRW pairs often creates localized price discovery and, at times, the phenomenon known as the "Kimchi premium," where token prices on Korean exchanges diverge from global averages due to capital controls and restricted arbitrage.
Momentum Leads the Pack
When combined data from both exchanges is considered, Momentum ($MMT) recorded the highest 24-hour trading volume. $MMT reached approximately $39.7 million on Upbit and roughly $6 million on Bithumb, bringing its total to approximately $45.74 million.
$XRP was also among the most actively traded cryptocurrencies by South Korean investors, generating a combined 24-hour volume of approximately $26.90 million across Upbit and Bithumb.
Top 15 Altcoins by Combined Volume on Upbit and Bithumb (24h)
- Momentum ($MMT) — $45.74 million
- $XRP — $26.90 million
- Biconomy (BICO) — $24.26 million
- Cysic (CYS) — $16.96 million
- RE (RE) — $13.88 million
- ETHGas (GWEI) — $12.79 million
- Solstice (SLX) — $12.37 million
- ZEROBASE (ZBT) — $10.56 million
- Cap (CAP) — $10.45 million
- $KAITO — $9.46 million
- Fusionist (ACE) — $8.76 million
- IoTeX (IOTX) — $7.13 million
- Cookie DAO (COOKIE) — $6.43 million
- Block Street (BSB) — $6.08 million
- Bubblemaps (BMT) — $5.69 million
The concentration of volume in lesser-known altcoins alongside established tokens like $XRP underscores the tendency of Korean retail traders to rotate aggressively between assets. While Bitcoin and Ethereum typically dominate global exchange volume rankings, the localized demand patterns on KRW-denominated pairs can produce outsized activity in smaller tokens. Because Korea's KRW market is one of the largest fiat-crypto trading corridors worldwide, outsized volume on Upbit and Bithumb can signal emerging interest that traders globally watch as a leading indicator of retail-driven momentum — though such spikes do not necessarily persist or translate to sustained demand on international exchanges.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.