South Korea Signals Crypto Rally: Upbit Volume Surges 273%, XRP Peaks on Two Exchanges

South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, saw its 24-hour trading volume surge by 273% to $1.84 billion during the Bitcoin rally, while Bithumb’s volume rose 132.9% to $934.9 million, with XRP becoming the most traded asset on both platforms.

According to CoinGecko data, approximately $1.84 billion worth of cryptocurrency transactions occurred on Upbit in the last 24 hours. This total indicates that the exchange has reached its highest daily trading volume since mid-March. Bitcoin, USDT, and Ether were the most traded assets on Upbit following XRP.

Similar activity was observed on Bithumb, South Korea’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange. While the platform’s trading volume rose to $934.9 million, XRP became the most traded cryptocurrency on Upbit with $418.9 million and also took the top spot on Bithumb.

South Korean investors are chasing returns

Presto Research analyst Min Jung stated that the increase in trading volumes indicates that South Korean capital is gradually starting to return to the crypto market. Jung noted that Korean retail investors are gravitating toward markets where they see upside potential rather than sticking to a specific asset, describing this behavior as “return-chasing.”

However, the fact that this movement has only lasted for two days suggests it is too early to speak of a permanent capital rotation. While the Bitcoin price increased by 8.28% in the last 24 hours to reach $78,554, the overall crypto market gained 7.2% in value. Therefore, the volume surge on South Korean exchanges provides important regional data for monitoring whether the Bitcoin rally is supported by real demand. According to Jung, if global momentum attracts Korean capital, this flow could strengthen the rally.