Crypto: XRP Soars Under The Influence Of South Korean Traders

In an ecosystem dominated by major global platforms, it was a regional player that surprised the entire market. Within a few hours, XRP soared from $2.60 to $3.00, driven by a massive influx of orders on Upbit, South Korea’s leading exchange. While Binance and Coinbase usually call the shots, this time it was Seoul that took control over the fate of one of the market’s oldest altcoins.

A Concentrated Rally: When Upbit Dictates XRP’s Price

While Bitcoin was reaching historic highs, a spectacular bullish movement of XRP caught analysts’ attention on July 12. Within a few hours, the crypto jumped from $2.60 to $3.00, supported by an unexpected momentum coming from South Korea.

Analyst Dom highlighted on the social network X that the surge came from a massive influx of buy orders on the spot market: “These are 32 million XRP coming exclusively from Upbit“, he specified, out of a total of 45 million XRP net buying pressure. This buying imbalance clearly shifted the market’s center of gravity towards Seoul.

https://twitter.com/traderview2/status/1944059376609771690

Here is how the net spot purchase volumes that fueled this rally were distributed:

• Upbit: 32 million XRP (≈ 70% of the net total);
• Coinbase: 11%;
• Kraken: 9%;
• Bitstamp: 6%;
• Binance: negative net volume.

According to CoinGecko data, XRP’s trading volume on Upbit approached $500 million in 24 hours, even surpassing that of Bitcoin and Ethereum on the platform. This figure demonstrates the magnitude of the phenomenon.

Contrary to the idea of a global rally, the rest of the world market played a minor or even opposite role. “I’m not saying it’s good or bad. It’s just the market. Sometimes one market attracts more attention than another“, said Dom, urging to interpret these imbalances as a natural evolution of the geography of crypto flows.

A South Korean Obsession with XRP: Between Catching Up and Transformation

Behind this frenzy for XRP lies a well-established reality: nearly 15% of the South Korean population, over 7 million people, are registered on local exchanges, according to Bloomberg.

The majority of them are retail investors, often young, and many feel they “missed” the Bitcoin train. Ripple’s crypto, due to its relative accessibility and history of strong price swings, has become one of the most popular cryptocurrencies in this context.

This is therefore not the first time South Korea has triggered a spectacular rise of an altcoin: the phenomenon, well known to analysts, seems to be repeating itself with even more vigor as the global market recovers.

However, the current enthusiasm is not solely based on speculation. In recent weeks, the XRP ecosystem has experienced several major developments, including the integration of USDC on the XRP Ledger, as well as increased technical activity on the network.

At the same time, persistent rumors of a spot XRP ETF continue to fuel speculation and could change the game if approved. Moreover, the case between Ripple and the SEC appears to be nearing its end after Ripple Labs announced the withdrawal of its appeal. All these factors combined enhance the crypto’s appeal to a Korean community very sensitive to regulatory and institutional developments.