XRP Overtakes Bitcoin on South Korea's Top Exchange

South Korea's dominant crypto exchange, Upbit (@Official_Upbit), recorded 11.2 trillion won in weekly trading volume, equivalent to roughly $8 billion, marking a 6.74% increase from the prior week. The latest data places $XRP at the top of the platform's most actively traded assets, ahead of $BTC in second place and USDT in third.

XRP Leads South Korea's Biggest Exchange

The ranking is consistent with a broader pattern on Upbit. According to Upbit's own disclosure, XRP was the exchange's largest digital asset by cumulative trading volume in 2025, surpassing $1 trillion in trading volume on the platform and exceeding Bitcoin's total. The latest weekly figures suggest that trend has carried into 2026.

XRP/KRW pairs have repeatedly surpassed BTC/KRW in daily and weekly rankings over the past year, with Korean traders dealing directly in won-denominated pairs rather than routing through dollar-based stablecoins. Approximately 15% of global XRP trading volume now originates from South Korea, according to PANews.

Upbit's Position in the Korean Market

Upbit is South Korea's most dominant crypto exchange, commanding roughly 70% of local crypto trading volume as of late 2025. The exchange is operated by Dunamu and sits at the top of the South Korean exchange hierarchy, with its closest domestic competitor, Bithumb, consistently trailing in volume.

South Korea has approximately 25 million crypto investors, nearly half its population. Its exchanges are limited by regulation to spot trading only, with no futures or leverage, so investors seeking amplified upside tend to favor high-volatility coins. That regulatory structure helps explain why retail capital repeatedly rotates into $XRP during periods of heightened activity.

Global XRP trading volume has at times moved in the opposite direction to Korean-specific demand, underscoring that the strength on Upbit can be a Korean-specific phenomenon running against a softer global backdrop, not a uniform global surge. Analysts note that concentrated volume does not always translate directly into sustained price moves.

Sources:
Crypto Briefing: Upbit reports $8B weekly trading volume as XRP leads the pack
Fortune Crypto 100: Upbit
CoinDesk: XRP tops Bitcoin and Ether volumes on major South Korean exchanges