$1T XRP trades on Upbit – Are Korean traders ignoring Bitcoin, Ethereum?

Amid heightened exercise on Upbit and Bithumb, XRP recorded near $1 billion in 24-hour buying and selling quantity.

Notably, this turnover surpassed each Bitcoin and Ethereum inside native markets. In doing so, XRP reaffirmed its dominance throughout Korea’s retail-heavy exchanges.

South Korea has advanced right into a retail liquidity hub, pushed largely by fiat-denominated altcoin hypothesis. Based on Kaiko knowledge, KRW buying and selling volume reached $1.1 trillion in 2024, surpassing home fairness indices.

Thereafter, $663 billion recorded by mid-2025 sustained Korea’s world rating. KRW now rivals USD as a number one fiat rail for crypto flows.

Altcoins dominate exercise, comprising almost 80% of quantity throughout main exchanges. Upbit alone controls roughly 69–70% of the home share, reinforcing market focus.

In the meantime, XRP/KRW pairs often command roughly 30–35% of every day turnover. Cumulative Ripple [XRP] trades on Upbit have exceeded $1 trillion.

Premium pricing additional shapes flows, with native valuations buying and selling 2–10% above world ranges. As retail demand intensifies, Korea’s liquidity footprint continues to affect broader altcoin value dynamics.

Altcoin rotation drives XRP quantity management

XRP has established clear quantity dominance throughout South Korea’s retail-driven exchanges. On the time of writing, on Upbit and Bithumb, XRP/KRW recorded roughly $789 million in mixed 24-hour turnover.

Notably, Upbit contributed $528 million, capturing a 32% share. In the meantime, Bithumb added $261 million, holding 28.27%.

Supply: CoinGecko

By comparability, BTC/KRW totaled roughly $116 million, whereas ETH/KRW reached $150 million. Thus, XRP is outpacing Bitcoin [BTC] and Ethereum [ETH]. At peak classes, XRP quantity approached $1.2 billion amid volatility spikes.

Retail participation drives this supremacy, with altcoins comprising 80% of main change flows. Common Order Sizes stay underneath $1,000, reflecting speculative micro-trading. Thereafter, regulatory readability and ETF narratives amplified liquidity.

Altogether, persistent KRW inflows place XRP as Korea’s retail sentiment gauge.

Spot dominance outpaces derivatives participation

Derivatives and spot markets reveal a transparent structural divergence throughout XRP exercise. In Korea, spot markets dominate, pushed by retail flows by fiat on-ramps. In contrast, derivatives enlargement stays constrained underneath native leverage restrictions.

At press time, XRP perpetual Open Interest sat close to $94.7 billion. In the meantime, Bitcoin edged barely greater at $95 billion, whereas Ethereum aligned close to $94.7 billion.

Regardless of XRP’s Spot Dominance, Derivatives Engagement doesn’t mirror this energy. Funding Rates remained impartial—XRP at 0.0028% versus Bitcoin’s 0.0021% and Ethereum’s 0.0015%.

Supply: CoinGlass

Equally, Lengthy/Brief Ratio steadiness close to 53/46 throughout property. Thereafter, offshore ETF hypothesis provides restricted futures momentum. But retail spot demand continues outpacing leveraged flows.

Altogether, Korea amplifies XRP sentiment extra by money markets than derivatives positioning.

Closing Ideas

• XRP’s dominance in South Korea is retail-driven, with KRW spot inflows, altcoin rotation, and micro-sized trades propelling volumes above Bitcoin and Ethereum.
• Nonetheless, momentum stays concentrated in spot markets, as muted derivatives participation indicators sentiment energy with out matching leveraged conviction.