Middle-aged retail investors in South Korea are fueling a dramatic surge in XRP trading volume, with activity on the country's leading exchanges Upbit and Bithumb skyrocketing. According to data from CoinGecko, 24-hour trading volumes for XRP surged 115% on Monday on Upbit and 81% on Bithumb. XRP is currently topping the spot market charts at both exchanges, accounting for 18% of all transactions on Bithumb and Upbit combined.
Ryan Yoon, a research analyst at Tiger Research, told DL News that this trend is "led by South Korean retail investors in their 40s and 50s." He explained that this demographic, capitalizing on recent gains from a stock market boom, is returning to crypto and heavily targeting XRP, which they find "most familiar" despite its reputation for volatility. "It’s fuelling some explosive trading activity," Yoon stated.
The surge in Korea aligns with growing global institutional interest. Investors have pumped $1.4 billion into XRP spot exchange-traded funds over the past four months. On the prediction market Polymarket, traders are betting on further gains, putting a 26% chance on XRP reaching $1.80 in March, a significant increase from its current price around $1.51. XRP's market cap is just under $93 billion.
Data shows the momentum is accelerating. On Monday, XRP accounted for 15% of all transactions on Bithumb and 14% on Upbit. Over a 24-hour period, South Korean traders conducted over $621 million worth of XRP transactions across the country's five licensed exchanges. On smaller exchanges like Korbit, Coinone, and GOPAX, XRP was typically second or third to stablecoins USDT and USDC.
Yoon attributes the flows to a "massive liquidity rotation from domestic and US stock markets back into crypto," as equities enter a consolidation phase and investors seek new volatility. This marks a reversal from January, when high stock prices left crypto markets lagging.
Separate data highlights the intensity of the move. A 72% overnight surge in total volume on Upbit to between $1.37 billion and $1.70 billion saw XRP capture 13.7% to 14.6% of that activity, translating to $199.8 million to $234 million in XRP trades on that single exchange. XRP briefly dominated trading ahead of Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Global exchange flow data showed coordinated activity, with Binance, Bybit, and Coinbase recording positive net inflows of $696,000, $480,000, and $330,000 respectively, suggesting traders were moving funds in preparation for trading. Upbit itself saw a net outflow of approximately $171,000, indicating some profit-taking or fund reallocation locally.
