2026-01-17 19:35:02

On South Korea's two major exchanges, Upbit and Bithumb, XRP trading volume has surpassed that of Bitcoin and Ethereum. There is an interesting phenomenon behind this — the proportion of altcoin trading on local exchanges reaches as high as 70-80%. The reason is not hard to understand: constrained by the spot-only rule, retail investors cannot engage in leveraged contract trading. Due to its high liquidity and extreme volatility, XRP has gradually become a preferred alternative for retail investors to replace leveraged trading. The explosive trading volume to some extent reflects this structural demand.

XRP-0,24%

BTC-0,42%

ETH0,39%

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PumpDoctrine

· 4h ago

Retail investors are really at their limit. Without leverage, they just use altcoins as substitutes. I truly admire this approach. XRP trading volume surpassing BTC? The Korean way of playing is truly different. Spot trading only has actually led to this strange phenomenon. Isn't that funny? Watching the 70-80% share of altcoins, I always feel like a crash is imminent someday. Is this wave of innovation driven by the system, or is it just the gambler's mentality at work?

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MEVEye

· 4h ago

Korean retail investors are really impressive. Playing XRP without leverage just for fun, I understand this move.

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FrontRunFighter

· 4h ago

ah there it is... the classic regulatory arbitrage trap. korea's banning leverage so retail just pivots to volatility plays instead. XRP volume spike isn't organic demand, it's desperation disguised as liquidity

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