A localized sell-off event on South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, triggered a significant price crash for XRP over the weekend. The token's recovery stalled around the $1.66 level, leading to a violent correction. According to CoinGecko data, XRP fell by 7.5%, hitting an intraday low of $1.45.
Pseudonymous trader Dom (@traderview2) provided a forensic analysis of the event. He identified that after XRP touched the $1.66 local high, sell pressure on Upbit exploded. Over a window of just 15 hours, Upbit users executed a net market sale of approximately 50 million XRP. This activity, potentially driven by a "mega-whale" or collective panic among South Korean retail traders, forced an abrupt exit.
Dom's analysis of the Spot Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) chart revealed a stark decoupling. While lines representing major global exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, Bybit, and OKX remained relatively flat, the purple line representing Upbit nosedived vertically around 04:00 UTC, crashing from neutral to -50,000,000 on the delta scale. Dom confirmed that wash trading accounted for less than 0.07% of this activity, noting it "Seems like real retail/institutional spot selling." The selling intensified between 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM KST, with the order book absorbing roughly 2,500 sell orders per minute.
This sell-off occurs against a backdrop of surging interest in XRP within South Korea. Data highlighted by Coin Bureau shows XRP pulling in a staggering $1.2 billion in 24-hour trading volume across South Korean exchanges Upbit and Bithumb. This volume dominates the local market, significantly outpacing Ethereum (~$304M), Bitcoin (~$285M), and other major assets. This concentration of activity is notable as South Korea is a crucial retail-driven crypto market, and historical XRP rallies have often coincided with strong Korean demand.
The current scenario presents a contrast: while price is falling due to the concentrated sell-off, underlying volume and liquidity from one of crypto's most active regions are surging. Analysts suggest this could signal an inflection point, where volatility is flushing out weak hands before a potential next move, especially if the broader altcoin market finds stability.
