- South Korea has emerged as a major XRP trading hub, with Upbit’s XRP/KRW market recently generating more spot volume than Coinbase as Korean traders increase activity in the token.
XRP trading is heating up in South Korea, where Upbit recorded roughly $224.22 million in 24-hour XRP spot volume, compared with $173.38 million on Coinbase, according to market data cited by TokenPost and U.Today. Binance remained ahead of both exchanges with about $306.13 million in XRP spot volume in the same comparison.
The figures show how significant the South Korean market has become for XRP, but they do not mean Korea accounts for more XRP trading than the entire US market. The comparison covers individual exchanges rather than aggregate country-level trading.
The latest move follows a broader pattern of strong XRP activity on Korean exchanges. Upbit’s XRP/KRW pair accounted for about 15.57% of the exchange’s total activity in the Sept. 24 comparison, while weekly XRP volume on Upbit was estimated at roughly $1.71 billion.
For investors tracking the latest XRP price move, the Korean market matters because unusually heavy activity on a large won-denominated trading pair can provide an important signal about short-term retail demand and liquidity.
Why South Korea matters for XRP trading
The latest surge is not an isolated event. XRP has repeatedly ranked among the most actively traded assets on South Korean exchanges during periods of stronger crypto-market activity. In August, Upbit's trading volume jumped 273% in 24 hours, with XRP recording about $418.9 million in trades and ranking as the exchange's most-traded cryptocurrency at the time, according to The Block. Bithumb also saw XRP lead its trading activity during that surge.
Upbit's own market data continues to show XRP near the top of its trading rankings. Its latest dashboard lists XRP as the exchange's largest asset by trading value, accounting for about 13.69% of total 24-hour activity.
CoinGecko's current exchange data similarly places the XRP/KRW market at the top of Upbit's spot markets, with roughly $212.8 million in 24-hour volume and about 13.72% of the exchange's reported activity at the latest reading.
That activity also fits the broader structure of South Korea's crypto market. The country's Financial Services Commission said registered Korean virtual-asset providers remained dominated by won-based exchange services in the second half of 2025. The regulator reported that average daily trading volume across the domestic market declined 15% from the previous six-month period, even as the number of eligible users and won deposits increased.
XRP has had a particularly strong presence in this market for years. CoinDesk reported in May that XRP/KRW was the most-traded pair on Upbit, with about $110.9 million in 24-hour volume, ahead of Bitcoin and Ethereum. XRP also ranked second on Bithumb at the time, behind USDT/KRW.
The recurring pattern suggests that Korean traders can become an important source of XRP spot-market activity when interest in the token accelerates.
What Upbit's XRP volume does, and does not, prove
The latest numbers are significant, but the distinction between exchange dominance and country-level dominance is important. Upbit's $224.22 million in XRP spot volume exceeded Coinbase's $173.38 million in the Sept. 24 comparison. Binance, however, was higher at approximately $306.13 million. The data therefore shows that Upbit has become one of the largest individual XRP trading venues, not that South Korea has definitively overtaken every other market.
The numbers also vary depending on the observation period and data provider. TokenPost noted that another market-data reading placed Upbit's XRP volume at approximately $257.9 million later on Sept. 24. That difference highlights why exchange-volume comparisons should be treated as snapshots rather than fixed daily totals.
XRP's price has also been moving alongside the increase in trading activity. CoinGecko's latest XRP/KRW data puts the token around ₩2,081, up about 2.6% over 24 hours and 17.2% over seven days. Total XRP trading volume across markets was roughly ₩6.21 trillion at the latest reading.