XRP spot volume surpasses Bitcoin and Ethereum on South Korea’s Upbit

Bitcoin is supposed to be the main character of every crypto exchange. On Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto platform, XRP stole the scene for a second consecutive day. On October 15, 2026, XRP/KRW spot volume on Upbit hit approximately $145.57 million. That figure topped both Bitcoin and Ethereum, which is not how most global order books tend to look. The numbers behind XRP’s lead Bitcoin’s KRW pair recorded $126.50 million in volume on the same day. Ethereum trailed further back at $92.09 million. XRP’s haul represented 11.74% of Upbit’s total trading volume. One token commanding more than a tenth of a major exchange’s activity is a notable concentration. The lead held up when volumes cooled the following day. On October 16, XRP posted $108.3 million in trading volume, compared with $95.3 million for Bitcoin and $62.7 million for Ethereum. The price action was far less dramatic. XRP traded around $1.34 during the stretch, slipping modestly even as volume climbed. There was also no meaningful Kimchi premium. That term describes the gap that sometimes opens when Korean prices run above global ones, and XRP’s Upbit price sat nearly level with Binance. The missing premium matters. I...