Lee Yeon-woo is a financial journalist at The Korea Times. Her wide range of reporting includes policies, macroeconomics, stock market, companies and even crypto. She is passionate about connecting the dots in Korean finance and making it easier for foreign nationals to understand. Based on her previous experience as a national reporter, she also has a keen interest in social issues within the sector, including gender equality and ESG. Your tips and insights are always appreciated. You can send them to yanu@koreatimes.co.kr.
Koreans drive Ripple rally
The price of Ripple is displayed at Bithumb's customer lounge in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
By Lee Yeon-woo
Ripple (XRP) continues its upward streak, bucking the slower growth seen in major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Recent analysis reveals that Korean investors are fueling the payments-focused cryptocurrency's rally.
Ripple was traded at 3,815 won ($2.72) at 3 p.m. Tuesday on Korea's largest virtual asset exchange, Upbit, and $2.74 in Binance, which increased by 12 percent compared to the previous trading day. Its price has surged 375 percent in about a month, with its market capitalization now standing at $155.9 billion, trailing only Bitcoin and Ethereum.
This contrasts with the downward trend among other major cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Solana, which initially gained momentum following former U.S. President Donald Trump's election victory.
While Ripple's global transaction volume has increased, analysts believe Korean retail investors are driving the surge.
Blockchain analytics firm Scopescan reported that over the past 24 hours, Ripple's spot trading volume on Upbit reached $3.8 billion — 11 times the trading volume of Bitcoin. Similarly, on another major Korean exchange, Bithumb, Ripple's trading volume totaled $1.2 billion, representing 32 percent of the platform's total.
Ripple has been recognized as a cryptocurrency with a significant domestic investor base. According to an October report by Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit, Ripple ranked among the top six assets by market capitalization in Korea's virtual market.
Ryan Kim, co-founder of Hashed, noted on social media platform X that Koreans' enthusiasm stems from Ripple's early adoption campaigns in Korea in 2014, with "early investors reaping significant returns."
Korean retail investors are known for favoring altcoins in pursuit of higher returns and growth potential. Yet, the recent deferral of crypto taxation in Korea has further fueled the bullish market.
"This delay is critical, as it effectively removes a major obstacle to speculative trading, giving the green light for another wave of aggressive crypto speculation," Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, said in a note to clients Monday.
Investor enthusiasm was also fueled by reports that Ripple’s stablecoin is nearing approval by the New York Department of Financial Services, along with buzz surrounding the application for a spot XRP exchange-traded fund.
Additionally, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is reportedly being considered for the role of Trump’s "crypto czar," a position intended to oversee the U.S. cryptocurrency landscape.
The resignation of Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, has further improved Ripple’s outlook, as it raises the possibility of the lawsuit against Ripple being dropped or settled.
"While it’s difficult to predict how long the rally will last, the cult-like dedication of the XRP community has proven invaluable through both good times and bad since the token's inception in 2013," said Peter Chung, head of research at Presto Research, citing that Ripple's market cap surpassed Ethereum's in the 2017 bull market. "XRP army will be a force to watch in 2025."