XRP Tops Korean Exchange Volumes as Upbit Trading Surges 273% to $1.84 Billion
Key Takeaways
- •Upbit’s trading volume rose 273% in 24 hours to roughly $1.84 billion, the exchange’s highest daily activity since mid-March.
- •XRP was the most traded token on Upbit and also topped Bithumb’s rankings, with its price near $1.38 after strong daily and weekly gains.
- •Bitcoin climbed 8.3% to around $78,554, and the wider crypto market gained 7.2% alongside the move.
- •Korean exchanges have had a weak 2026 so far, with first-half turnover down 54.6% year over year to $366.58 billion.
- •Presto Research’s Min Jung said Korean investors often buy assets that are already rising, and it is too early to tell whether the latest crypto trading surge will last.
Trading volume on Upbit, South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, jumped 273% over the past 24 hours to roughly $1.84 billion, marking the platform's busiest day since mid-March. XRP, the token associated with payments company Ripple, was reportedly the single most-traded token on the exchange, as a rise in bitcoin's price pulled Korean money off the sidelines.
Why are so many people trading XRP?
XRP has surpassed bitcoin, USDT, and ether, with approximately $418.9 million recorded on Upbit over the past day. The token also leads Bithumb's rankings, where its volume climbed 132.9% to $934.9 million.
XRP ranked third among the most-viewed cryptocurrencies in South Korea, behind only bitcoin and ether, according to CoinMarketCap's most-viewed pages data. Its price sat near $1.38 after a 20.1% gain on the day and a 38.1% rise over the week. That prominence is nothing new in Korea: XRP has ranked among the most heavily traded tokens on the country's won-based exchanges for years, and won-denominated pairs have repeatedly been among XRP's busiest markets worldwide. The pattern dates to the 2017-18 retail boom, when local prices at times ran above global benchmarks — the gap known as the kimchi premium.
The sudden spike in XRP trading coincides with bitcoin's 8.3% price increase to around $78,554. The wider crypto market also benefited from bitcoin's rise, gaining 7.2%. Cryptopolitan has reported that the Bitcoin rally is driven by the U.S. Treasury Department's expanded debt buyback plan.
Min Jung from Presto Research says Korean investors are "return-chasers" who are not loyal to any particular asset and usually buy what is already going up. With the rally only two days old, it is too soon to call the activity a lasting shift, but if it continues, more Korean money will likely flow in. Typically, global trends pull Korean funds into a move, making it bigger rather than sparking it in the first place.
How have Korean exchanges performed so far in 2026?
The surge in XRP trading stands out because Korea's exchanges have spent 2026 in retreat. Cryptopolitan reported that combined first-half turnover at the country's five won-based exchanges fell 54.6% from a year earlier to $366.58 billion.
Upbit and Bithumb, the two largest of those five won-based venues, each posted roughly 50% drops in first-half operating revenue. Upbit's net profit fell 74% over the period, while Bithumb slid into a net loss. Because these venues earn their revenue largely from trading fees, any sustained lift in volume would flow directly into the results that deteriorated through the first half.
The KOSPI index, meanwhile, hit record highs thanks to an AI-driven boom in Samsung and SK Hynix, which drew Korean traders toward the semiconductor industry instead of crypto. Cryptopolitan documented that some traders and investors even moved into KOSPI-related products on platforms like Hyperliquid.
Jung sees the current interest in crypto as a catch-up strategy, since stocks have already rallied hard while crypto lagged. Investors are now looking for assets that have not moved as much yet.
