In 2025 XRP Beat BTC to Become Most Traded Crypto in Korea

XRP led 2025 trading activity on Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, overtaking Bitcoin and Ethereum in total volume. 

Notably, XRP maintained consistent daily dominance rather than relying on brief spikes in trade volume, allowing it to account for about 70% of the trading activity on Upbit throughout 2025.

Besides its achievement in trade volume, XRP also witnessed deep liquidity in Korean won markets and attracted broad participation from millions of Upbit users, which made up a quarter of the total Korean population.

Key Data Points

• XRP ranked as the most traded cryptocurrency on Upbit in 2025, finishing ahead of Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, and Dogecoin by total volume.
• XRP consistently captured between 15% and 22% of daily trading volume and ranked as the top XRP/KRW trading pair for most of the year.
• Trading activity peaked in July 2025, when XRP recorded about $1.22 billion in single-day volume on the exchange.
• Upbit processed over $1 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, with XRP contributing a significant share of that activity.
• Korean exchanges accumulated roughly 570 million XRP by year-end.

Steady Daily Trading Drove XRP’s Lead

This is according to data released by Dunamu, Upbit’s operator, and spotlighted by XFinanceBull. According to the report, XRP established its lead through consistent trading rather than short bursts of activity. 

Throughout 2025, it regularly accounted for between 15% and 22% of Upbit’s daily trading volume. This confirmed a strong and ongoing interest from retail traders instead of brief speculative moves. The XRP/KRW pair ranked as the most traded market on the exchange for most of the year.

Trading reached its highest point in July 2025, when XRP recorded about $1.22 billion in volume in a single day. Across the full year, Upbit processed more than $1 trillion in total trades, and XRP made up a large share of that amount.

XRP Maintained Deep Liquidity

Moreover, XRP recorded stronger liquidity than Bitcoin and Ethereum on Upbit, allowing traders to buy and sell large amounts with ease. In addition, by the end of 2025, Korean exchanges held an estimated 570 million XRP.

South Korea’s crypto market depends heavily on retail participation, and XRP fits well into this environment. Its strong trading activity supported deep Korean won liquidity and helped reduce sharp price swings compared to other high-volume assets.

Upbit’s Large User Base

Meanwhile, the exchange reported around 13.26 million registered users, which equals nearly one-quarter of South Korea’s population. Traders in their 30s made up the largest age group, accounting for 28.7% of all users. Notably, Korea has always represented one of XRP’s largest markets. 

Men represented 65% of Upbit’s total user base, while women accounted for 43% of new registrations. Trading activity peaked around 9:00 a.m. Korea Standard Time, suggesting many users trade during normal working hours. More than 300,000 users also joined staking programs.