XRP Beat Bitcoin as the Most-Traded Coin on Upbit Last Week. Is South Korea Still XRP’s Biggest Market?

XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) emerged as the most-traded coin on Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, for the week ending October 18, 2026. It led Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Tether (CRYPTO: USDT), the widely used stablecoin.

Despite this achievement, XRP’s top position came during a sluggish trading week. Upbit recorded total trading volume of 8.35 trillion won (approximately $6.28 billion), down 15.5% from the previous week. Overall trading volume across major exchanges fell 19.6%.

Korean traders have shown little new buying interest in XRP. As of October 18, XRP is priced at $1.31, down 7.1% over the past week and 13.5% over the previous two weeks, leaving it 64% below its peak of $3.65. This raises the question: Is South Korea still XRP’s biggest market, or did XRP only secure the top spot in a shrinking pool?

What Upbit’s Volume Ranking Measures, and Why Traders Watch It

Trading volume reflects the total value of all trades an exchange executes during a specific period. Upbit ranks cryptocurrencies by this value, so when XRP ranks first, it means more won changed hands in XRP than in Bitcoin or Tether.

However, remember that every transaction has a buyer and a seller, so the 8.35 trillion won figure includes both buying and selling activity. Volume alone does not reveal which side was more active.

Traders closely monitor these rankings because Korean retail investors have long preferred XRP. Many of these traders operate on Upbit’s won pairs. When XRP ranks first, it often signals renewed demand from Korea. This interpretation is more reliable when Upbit’s overall trading volume also rises, indicating that new investment capital is entering the market.

XRP Led Upbit While Total Trading Shrank 15.5%

Despite XRP holding the top position on Upbit, the exchange’s total trading volume fell 15.5% during the same week. Rankings reflect market share, so a coin’s share can rise even as overall trading activity declines. So, XRP at the top during a period of decreased activity might suggest Korean traders kept focusing on XRP while trading in other coins slowed, indicating loyalty rather than new demand.

Although Upbit outperformed the broader market, where overall trading volume fell 19.6%, it still reported lower trading than the previous week.

Two key metrics remain undisclosed for this week: XRP’s precise share of Upbit’s total volume and the proportion of global XRP trading conducted in Korean won. Without this information, analysts cannot determine how much of XRP’s worldwide trading volume is attributable to Korea versus dollar pairs on other exchanges.

XRP’s Falling Price Weakens the Upbit Signal

XRP’s 7.1% drop over the same week it led Upbit adds uncertainty to the data, as high trading volume during a price decline could indicate sellers accepting offers just as easily as buyers entering the market. On dollar markets, XRP hit a low of $1.25 on October 18, its lowest daily low in the past month.

Market makers also impact exchange volume. These firms place buy and sell orders on both sides of the order book and profit from the spread, so their transactions can inflate volume figures without changing who actually holds XRP.

One major concern is how trades settle. Upbit settles trades on its internal books, which never touch the XRP Ledger, the blockchain for XRP. As a result, on-chain data cannot confirm whether Korean buyers moved XRP into their own wallets. A quiet blockchain can indicate either accumulation or inactivity.

ETF Money Could Lift XRP More Than Korean Volume

XRP’s price movements largely depend on fresh investment and sustained buying interest. U.S. spot XRP ETFs offer clear insight into this investment flow, and recently, that flow has slowed. Data from SoSoValue shows a net outflow of $2.5 million on October 16, a smaller outflow of about $105,000 on October 15, and no net flow on several days earlier in the month.

In contrast, ETF inflows were notably different in late September. On September 25, these funds recorded a net inflow of $22.6 million, their largest intake in the past month, during the same buying run that took XRP to an intraday high of $1.66 on September 23.

Unfortunately, ETF holders are currently at a loss. Total net assets sat at $1.47 billion on October 16, below the cumulative $1.80 billion in inflows. Holders often sell during rallies to recoup losses, which could limit potential price rebounds.

South Korean interest hasn’t shielded XRP from this year’s price declines. XRP has fallen 29.1% year-to-date, compared to Bitcoin’s 6.2% drop, Ethereum‘s (CRYPTO: ETH) 18.9% decline, and Solana‘s (CRYPTO: SOL) 16.5% reduction.

Is South Korea Still XRP’s Biggest Market?

South Korea remains XRP’s most loyal retail market, as Upbit’s rankings indicate. However, this ranking alone cannot definitively prove Korea is XRP’s biggest market or reveal new demand, especially considering XRP’s top position occurred during a week of declining overall volume. Fully answering this question would require better insights into the won’s share of global XRP trading.

The first test is volume. If Upbit’s next weekly report shows total volume back above 8.35 trillion won with XRP still on top, fresh won could be flowing into XRP, while a smaller total would mean fewer Korean traders. The second test is price. XRP needs to hold its $1.25 low and recover the $1.41 October 11 close; a daily close below $1.25 would show Korean trading isn’t providing support.

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