XRP Flips ETH and BTC to Become the Dominant Trading Pair in the Korean Market

Something unusual is playing out on the Korean crypto market this week, where XRP has moved into a dominant position across both Upbit and Bithumb

This week has seen something unusual unfold on the Korean crypto market, with XRP stepping into a dominant role on both Upbit and Bithumb, as per CoinMarketCap.

The token’s trading activity has escalated, propelling volumes to levels that outpace Tether and even Bitcoin and Ethereum.

With a 24-hour trading volume of $351 million and a 14.84% market share, XRP held the top spot on Upbit, comfortably ahead of Ethereum, Bitcoin, and USDT.

Meanwhile, on Bithumb, XRP again reigned supreme with $151.6 million in volume, surpassing USDT and presenting a two-fold increase over Bitcoin’s figures. So, XRP's presence is anything but negligible.

A significant portion of this surge appears to be driven by retail momentum. As XRP's price climbed quickly from $2.14 to $2.48, a rapid spike in volume ensued.

Over the past two days alone, XRP trading on Upbit has exceeded both ETH and BTC in volume. In a 24-hour period, the combined Korean markets witnessed over $1.2 billion in XRP volume.

XRP in futures markets

The futures markets are displaying a similar narrative, with a 41.6% increase in open interest on XRP contracts this week, bringing the total to $3.42 billion.

Moreover, liquidity metrics are highlighting signs of concentrated demand.

For instance, on Upbit, the +2% bid depth for XRP stands at $929,000, while the -2% ask depth is $3.72 million. Similarly, Bithumb reports $1.27 million in bid depth and $1.98 million in ask depth, placing XRP above most major tokens in terms of active market depth.

Furthermore, the XRP token recently pulled ahead of USDT to secure third place in the global market cap rankings, reaching 4.47% total market dominance.

As retail interest intensifies and futures positioning shows swift growth, XRP's performance in Korea this week is noteworthy not only in price but also in how it's unfolding across spot and derivative markets.