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News
Aug 23, 2026
2min read
byRizwan Ansari
forCoinpedia
South Korean traders are returning as Bitcoin climbed to a three-month high of $79,500, lifting Upbit 24‑hour volume 273% to $1.84B and Bithumb volume 132.9% to $934.9M, nearly $3B combined while total crypto market cap sits around $2.65T. Buying is broadening beyond BTC into XRP ($418.9M on Upbit), high‑momentum altcoins, Layer‑1 and AI tokens, reviving a 1.8–2.4% Kimchi premium on CEXs, though recent $1.7B of leveraged liquidations underscores ongoing leverage and market risk; overall this signals renewed crypto adoption and CEX activity in Korea.
See what traders are focused on
South Korean traders are returning to crypto as Bitcoin climbed to a three-month high of $79,500. Upbit’s 24-hour trading volume jumped 273% to $1.84 billion, while Bithumb’s volume rose 132.9%.
The sharp rise suggests Korean investors may be moving money back into crypto after months of weaker trading activity.
South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, Upbit, saw its 24-hour trading volume jump 273% to $1.84 billion. This rally marks the highest single-day trading volume for Upbit since mid-March.
Completely outperforming global volume trends over the same trailing 24-hour window.
Simultaneously, Bithumb, the country’s second-largest exchange, also saw strong growth, with trading volume rising 132.9% to $934.9 million. Together, the two exchanges handled nearly $3 billion in KRW trading volume over 24 hours.
The move also comes as the global crypto market has recovered. The total crypto market cap is now around $2.65 trillion.
Why Are Korean Traders Coming Back?
The recent surge may be linked to a shift in where Korean traders are putting their money. Earlier this year, strong gains in the KOSPI, Samsung and SK Hynix drew more investors toward stocks, while crypto trading slowed.
As a result, Upbit and Bithumb also saw weaker business activity during that period.
Now, Bitcoin has recovered with a 26% weekly gain, while the KOSPI has pulled back from its recent highs. This shift may be pushing Korean traders to move their focus back to crypto for better returns.
The recent market drop may have also created a buying chance. More than <a href="https://coinpedia.org/news/bitcoin-<a href="https://xpertsstudio.com/crypto-skeptic-rashida-tlaib-holds-bitcoin-and-ethereum-etfs/” title=”Crypto Skeptic Rashida Tlaib Holds Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs”>ethereum-and-xrp-crash-as-1-7b-got-liquidated-in-24-hours/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>$1.7 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated, pushing prices lower.
This strong buying has also brought back the Kimchi Premium. Some crypto assets traded 1.8% to 2.4% higher on Upbit and Bithumb than on global exchanges like Coinbase and Binance.
What Are They Buying? The Classic Korean “Altcoin Fever”
The trading surge is not only coming from Bitcoin. XRP led the activity with $418.9 million in volume, ranking ahead of Bitcoin, USDT, and Ethereum on Upbit.
Much of the activity was also seen in high-momentum altcoins and newly listed tokens, showing that Korean traders are once again moving toward riskier assets.
On Bithumb, traders also showed strong interest in Layer-1 and AI-related tokens.
This growing demand for altcoins is important because Korean traders can quickly push trading volumes and prices higher when market sentiment turns bullish.
Source: cryptorank.io