XRP Is Crushing Bitcoin on Korean Exchange Upbit: Here Are the Numbers

The Numbers

On Monday night, onchain data showed that $XRP was “dominating Upbit,” with the asset’s numbers showing $203.9 million in 24-hour volume against $143 million for bitcoin and $119 million for ether.

Moreover, Upbit’s candle data shows $XRP out-traded bitcoin in won terms on every day from Aug. 23 through Sept. 21, 30 for 30, and it led again in the first hours of Sept. 22.

The margins were sometimes huge because on Aug. 23, $XRP drew $418M (₩571B) to bitcoin’s $93.1M (₩127B), a 4.5x lead. On Sept. 15, the day the CLARITY Act failed its Senate cloture vote, $XRP churned $368M (₩502B) as its Upbit price sank to $1.28 (₩1,749), more than three times bitcoin’s $118M (₩161B). Korean traders didn’t step away when $XRP fell 10%. They traded it harder.

Venue consideration is important as well, since a recent Kaiko Research document found that Upbit handled about 70% of South Korea’s crypto volume through 2025. Not only that, Upbit is also one of $XRP’s largest custodians, appearing 11 times among the top 40 $XRP wallets with a combined 6.424 billion $XRP in July.

Who Is Doing the Buying?

Korean retail, and the bid seemingly moved the numbers. $XRP climbed about 19% on Upbit from $1.28 (₩1,749) on Sept. 15 to $1.52 (₩2,078) at the Sept. 21 close, touching $1.53 (₩2,084) intraday.