Korean Traders Favor XRP Over Bitcoin
XRP has been outperforming Bitcoin on the Korean exchange Upbit over the past month. On September 21, XRP drew $350 million (about ₩481 billion) in trading volume, beating Bitcoin's $225.8 million (₩308 billion). This is not an isolated incident, as XRP has consistently out-traded Bitcoin on Upbit every day since August 23.
The numbers are impressive: on September 15, the day the CLARITY Act failed its Senate cloture vote, XRP churned $368 million (₩502 billion) as its Upbit price sank to $1.28 (₩1,749), more than three times Bitcoin's $118 million (₩161 billion). Korean traders didn't step away when XRP fell 10%, they traded it harder.
Upbit is a significant player in the South Korean crypto market, handling about 70% of the country's volume through 2025. The exchange is also one of XRP's largest custodians, with over 6.424 billion XRP held in its top 40 wallets as of July.