Bitcoin rally sends Upbit trading volume up 273% to $1.84 billion

Trading activity on South Korea’s two largest crypto exchanges has jumped sharply, with Upbit volume rising 273% to about $1.84 billion as Bitcoin’s latest rally pulls local traders back toward digital assets.

According to CoinGecko data on Aug. 21, Upbit recorded its highest daily trading volume since mid-March, while $XRP accounted for $418.9 million of transactions and ranked ahead of Bitcoin, USDT and Ether on the exchange.

Bithumb recorded a similar increase, with 24-hour volume climbing 132.9% to about $934.9 million. $XRP also ranked as the most-traded cryptocurrency on South Korea’s second-largest exchange.

The pickup follows months of weaker activity across South Korea’s crypto market, where investors spent much of 2026 favoring domestic equities as the KOSPI reached record levels. Bitcoin’s latest rebound, however, has begun pulling some of that attention back toward crypto.

Upbit volume rebounds after months of weak Korean crypto trading

South Korean crypto activity had fallen sharply earlier this year as Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies remained under pressure while local stocks delivered stronger returns.

In May, crypto.news reported that local trading across Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax had dropped to only about 8% of KOSPI trading volume. The comparison covered data through May 26 and placed cryptocurrency turnover at less than one-tenth of activity in South Korea’s benchmark equity market.

That was a sharp reversal from late 2024, when domestic crypto exchanges at times generated trading volumes above the local stock market. Negative Bitcoin Korea Premium readings reported during May also showed weaker local demand compared with overseas markets.

The slowdown showed up in exchange earnings. Upbit and Bithumb both reported operating revenue declines of roughly 50% during the first half of 2026. Upbit’s net profit fell 74%, while Bithumb moved from a profit in the comparable period to a net loss.

Much of the competing demand came from South Korean equities. The KOSPI climbed to record highs as investors bought shares linked to the artificial intelligence memory boom, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

Even after local stocks became more volatile from late June, Korean traders continued to focus heavily on the semiconductor trade, according to the report.

$XRP has again taken the lead on Korean exchanges

$XRP’s position at the top of both Upbit and Bithumb’s latest volume rankings continues a trading pattern seen several times this year.

During another surge in May, $XRP led Upbit trading with more than $330 million in 24-hour volume. Bitcoin recorded about $217 million at the time, while Ether generated roughly $109 million.

The May increase came after Hana Financial Group announced that Hana Bank would acquire a 1 trillion won, or about $670 million, stake in Dunamu, Upbit’s operator.

Another May trading session saw $XRP/KRW become Upbit’s busiest market with about $110.9 million in volume, again placing it ahead of Bitcoin and Ether. The repeated ranking has kept $XRP closely tied to periods of heavier retail activity in South Korea.

Recent institutional interest in the country’s exchanges has continued despite weaker trading conditions. Three Samsung affiliates agreed to acquire a combined 4% stake in Dunamu for about $408 million in May.

Samsung Securities, Samsung SDS and Samsung Card agreed to purchase around 1.39 million Dunamu shares from Kakao-linked entities. Samsung Securities was set to take a 2% stake, while Samsung SDS and Samsung Card would each acquire 1%.

On the Bithumb side, Kiwoom Securities entered talks in June over a possible investment through newly issued shares. The size of the proposed transaction and the resulting ownership interest had not been finalized at the time.

Bitcoin rally is drawing attention back to crypto

The latest rise in Korean exchange volumes has coincided with a sharp Bitcoin rebound after the U.S. Treasury Department expanded its debt buyback program.

The Treasury said on Aug. 19 that it would increase the size of liquidity-support buybacks for longer-dated nominal coupon securities by at least twofold. Markets initially treated the decision as supportive for liquidity, helping Bitcoin climb back above $69,000 for the first time since June before the rally extended further.

Bitcoin was up about 8.3% over the previous 24 hours and traded above $78,000 at the time of publication. The total cryptocurrency market had gained around 7.2% over the same period.

Min Jung, associate researcher at Presto Research, told crypto media that two days of stronger activity was not enough to establish that Korean investors had started a sustained move from stocks into crypto.

“While it’s too early to call this a rotation given it’s only been two days, we’d expect a much larger influx of capital into crypto if the rally holds,” Jung said.

With the KOSPI already recording a strong advance this year while cryptocurrencies lagged for months, Jung said investors were starting to consider where another catch-up trade might develop.

Korean retail capital tends to follow returns

Jung described South Korean retail investors earlier this week as “return-chasing” instead of “asset-loyal,” meaning capital can move quickly toward whichever market is delivering stronger performance.

A sustained crypto rally could therefore bring a more substantial amount of Korean capital back into digital assets, according to the researcher.

Jung also said such inflows could influence cryptocurrency prices outside South Korea because Korean trading flows have historically affected markets by more than their percentage share of global volume might imply.

The sequence, however, usually begins outside the country.

“Korean capital tends to follow a rally rather than start one,” Jung said, adding that global market momentum is more likely to attract Korean money first, after which the additional buying can amplify the move.

Source: cryptonews.net