XRP Outshines Peers Thanks to a Boom in Trading on South Korean Exchanges

Tuesday's crypto market hangover has seen almost every single major cryptocurrency retracing slightly

Crypto traders are rolling over in their graves. Almost every single major cryptocurrency has retraced slightly in the last 24 hours, except for XRP.

The token designed by Ripple’s founders to facilitate cross-border transactions is up 4% on Tuesday.

On Upbit, South Korea’s biggest crypto exchange, XRP trading volume has exceeded $1 billion over the last 24 hours, more than Bitcoin and Ethereum volume on the platform combined, CoinGecko data shows.

A measure known as cumulative volume delta, which tracks whether aggressive buying or selling pressure is dominating trading volume, has flipped bullish for XRP. That means Koreans are signalling a bullish stance on XRP.

There’s precedent for South Korean activity driving XRP price movements —the Ripple-linked cryptocurrency is popular in the country.

Apart from Upbit, the other big four crypto exchanges ― Bithumb, Korbit, and Coinone ― also show massive XRP trading activity.

The renewed interest in XRP in South Korea has coincided with a major inflection point for the token: Ripple’s proposed $50 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

On May 8, the SEC filed a settlement agreement with Ripple to resolve its civil enforcement action against two of its executives, Chris Larsen and CEO Brad Garlinghouse.

The regulator also proposed an administrative proceeding to review and potentially approve the token for public offering, in a move that could have far-reaching implications for the crypto industry.

The settlement agreement still needs approval from a federal court. If approved, it would mark a significant development in the SEC's cases against crypto firms.

The agency has been stepping up its scrutiny of the industry, leading to several lawsuits and investigations.

The SEC's actions have had a mixed impact on the crypto market. While some investors and firms welcome the regulator's efforts to bring clarity and order to the industry, others criticize the SEC for being slow to adapt to the rapidly evolving crypto sector.

Bullish expectations for XRP are also mounting as trade tensions thaw between the US and China.

Geoffrey Kendrick, digital assets research chief at UK bank Standard Chartered, predicts that XRP could double its price to $5.50 this year.

He also expects XRP to reach $8.00 in 2026, and more than $10 in 2027. In 2029, he sees a $12.25 price ― which would be a 382% increase.

Traders are also piling into optimistic bets on XRP perpetuals, or perps ― futures contracts without expiration dates. Market data from Coinglass shows longs outnumbering shorts on XRP perps three-to-one, the biggest margin for any of the major cryptocurrencies.

The enthusiasm has also spread to Polymarket, where crypto bettors weren’t previously optimistic of XRP’s price prospects in May.

A bet on the platform gives XRP a 78% chance of ending May at a higher price than $2.19. It was only 40% a week ago.

Another bet on the platform has XRP given a 56% chance that its price will reach $2.80 in May. Punters on this betting option previously piled into bets that XRP would fall to as low as $1.90 this month.

Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? Please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.