XRP Shocks Market: Tops Bitcoin & Ether in South Korea!

Markets

What to know:

XRP is back at the top of South Korean trading screens.

Over the last 24 hours, a particular token pair saw the highest trading volume on Upbit, reaching approximately $110.9 million. This outperformed both Bitcoin ($88.6 million) and Ether ($67 million), according to CoinGecko. On Bithumb, XRP traded with Korean Won (KRW) reached around $41 million in volume, making it the second most traded pair after Tether (USDT/KRW), and surpassing both Bitcoin/KRW and Ether/KRW.

This is important because South Korea has consistently been a very active market for XRP. While Bitcoin and Ethereum are usually the most traded cryptocurrencies worldwide, Korean traders have frequently caused XRP to become the most traded coin, especially when interest – and price swings – start to increase.

Despite the recent positive news, XRP’s price hasn’t moved much, staying around $1.44 to $1.45. It’s up about 3% for the week, which is better than Bitcoin, but not as good as the roughly 8% gains seen in both BNB and Solana.

What we’re seeing isn’t a breakout happening right now, but rather increasing buying pressure beneath a key price level that the market hasn’t been able to surpass.

According to CoinDesk data, XRP continues to struggle with a price range between $1.49 and $1.50. It’s been trying to break above this level since February, but has repeatedly failed. While it hasn’t been able to push higher, the price has been steadily increasing from a support level around $1.40.

As I’ve been observing, the market’s structure is really important, especially when trading volume picks up. My testing shows that repeated selling can eventually overcome support, and right now, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of buying interest above current prices. I’m watching the $1.50 level closely – if sellers are consistently absorbed there, a break above it could lead to a much quicker price increase than we’ve seen recently.

Korean activity also stands out against a choppier local macro backdrop.

South Korea’s main stock market index, the Kospi, dropped significantly on Tuesday. This decline followed remarks by a government advisor who suggested uncertainty about how the country would share profits from its growing artificial intelligence industry with citizens through taxes.

Despite being one of the world’s best-performing markets this year, thanks to companies like Samsung and SK Hynix, the recent dip highlights how quickly investor confidence can change after a significant price increase.

This highlights the increasing attention on XRP. Investors aren’t just broadly purchasing cryptocurrencies based on Korean market sentiment; they’re specifically focusing on XRP, a well-known and historically volatile crypto asset.

Just because there’s a lot of trading activity doesn’t necessarily mean the price will go up. It could also indicate a lot of people are selling, or that buying is happening late near a price level that’s been hard to break through. However, if XRP starts seeing the highest trading volume in Korea while its price stays steady below a known high, that often gets people’s attention.

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2026-05-13 09:56