Here’s why South Koreans prefer XRP over Bitcoin and Ethereum

XRP has become the default trading chip of South Korea, bypassing Bitcoin and Ethereum to dominate the country’s high-velocity retail market.

While institutional capital worldwide typically gravitates toward Bitcoin as a store of value, South Korean trading patterns tell a different story.

Data from the country’s largest exchanges reveals that when the market heats up, domestic traders consistently prioritize XRP for its liquidity and speed. This preference is a structural anomaly that has defined the local retail playbook for 2025.

Dunamu, the operator of the dominant Upbit exchange, listed XRP as the platform’s most-traded asset for the year, ranking it ahead of the two largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Notably, the pattern is repeated on Bithumb, the nation’s second-largest venue, where market data places the XRP/KRW pair second in volume share, trailing only the USDT stablecoin pair.

This aligns with a broader national trend where altcoins account for 70% to 80% of trading volume on domestic centralized exchanges, a figure that far exceeds the global average of roughly 50%.

Why do South Koreans prefer XRP?

The “why” behind this dominance is found in the difference between conviction and utility.

South Korea’s market is optimized for short-horizon decisions rather than “buy and hold” strategies. In this environment, the best asset is not necessarily the one with the strongest store-of-value thesis, but the one that functions most cleanly as a tool for speculation.

This is because the country’s local infrastructure rewards this specific utility.

Korea’s major exchanges like Upbit are built around spot trading in South Korean won (KRW). When traders wish to express a view on the market, they rarely move into illiquid assets. They rotate into assets that remain tradeable during surges.

XRP offers deep order books, tight spreads, and low friction for execution. It has become the “ergonomic” choice for a retail user base trained to treat it as a core rotation pair.

This utility is critical at 9 AM, which Upbit identifies as its busiest trading hour. As the workday begins, liquidity surges into the market and traders require an asset that can absorb this morning rush without seizing up.

XRP consistently serves as the default vehicle for this liquidity, functioning more like high-speed rail for capital than an investment.

Volatility substitutes for leverage

Meanwhile, structural constraints within the country have also forced speculative energy into XRP.

Crypto research firm Tiger Research noted that significantly more capital flows into foreign exchanges than remains in domestic markets.

This is largely because these investors are chasing derivative products that are not available at home. Notably, South Korean domestic exchanges primarily offer spot trading.

That restriction creates a split market, with traders seeking leverage going offshore. This means that those remaining on domestic platforms must manufacture their own leverage by trading assets with high volatility (or “beta”).

XRP occupies a “sweet spot” for this demographic because it exhibits sufficient volatility to generate significant short-term returns while maintaining sufficient liquidity to allow traders to exit positions quickly. So, it effectively serves as a proxy for leverage in a spot-only market.

Moreover, the psychology of the market further amplifies this behavior.

Many South Korean traders missed the early, exponential growth phases of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Seeking to replicate those life-changing returns, they have aggressively turned to altcoins like XRP to capture similar upside.

This pursuit of high-growth assets has historically led domestic traders to drive euphoric rallies in the crypto market, with Korean investors repeatedly profiting from short-term trades in low-cap, high-volatility assets.

The ‘XRP Army’ moat

Beyond market mechanics, the preference is sustained by a uniquely intense community culture.

Tatsuya Kohrogi, Ripple’s Senior Manager of Ecosystem Growth, recently characterized the South Korean XRP community as “next level,” highlighting an engagement intensity that surpasses that of other major regions.

This fervor is a natural output of the country’s high penetration rate. Reports indicate that over 7 million South Koreans (approximately 15% of the total population) are now registered on local exchanges.

This density created a distinct social momentum that consistently fueled XRP’s price performance last year. Notably, Crypto analyst Dom noted several instances in which Upbit’s buying power exceeded that of global heavyweights like Coinbase and Binance.

The pattern shows that XRP traders do not just trade the asset; they also consistently show up to defend it on their local platforms.

Institutional bridge

This intense retail engagement is now beginning to pull institutional infrastructure into its orbit.

While the market’s preference for XRP began as a speculative habit, shifting global narratives and local developments are hardening it into a structural feature.

For years, XRP carried the tail risk of a US regulatory crackdown, but that cloud has thinned. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ended its lawsuit against Ripple in August 2025, and since then, major financial firms like Franklin Templeton have announced XRP-focused ETFs.

This global shift in legitimacy is now being mirrored by domestic infrastructure upgrades tailored to Korea’s unique market composition.

Recognizing the depth of the local XRP market, regulated entities are moving to support it.

BDACS, one of only four licensed crypto custodians in South Korea, is actively bridging the gap between blockchain technology and traditional financial institutions.

The firm has collaborated with Ripple to provide digital asset custody services for tokenized securities, including stablecoins such as Ripple USD (RLUSD), and, notably, XRP itself.

By building custody solutions for the very asset that dominates retail turnover, firms like BDACS are validating the market’s choice.

Thus, the narrative surrounding XRP has shifted from being a “speculative tool” to one that is being institutionalized.