Retail cryptocurrency trading in South Korea has reached new highs, surpassing the country’s stock market by $4 billion in just 24 hours.
The rise was driven by significant trading activity in several altcoins, including Ripple’s XRP, Dogecoin (DOGE), Stellar (XLM), Ethereum Name Service (ENS), and Hedera (HBAR).
Crypto Retail Trading in South Korea Reaches $18 Billion
According to 10x research report, Retail cryptocurrency trading volumes in South Korea rose to $18 billion on December 2, marking the second highest level of the year.
Ripple’s XRP led the charge with over $6.3 billion in trading volume. DOGE followed with $1.6 billion, while XLM recorded $1.3 billion. Other notable altcoins included ENS with $900 million and HBAR with $800 million.
Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, explained that this has led to one of the largest divergences on record.
“These high-momentum cryptocurrencies are predominantly being driven by retail traders, capitalizing on and reinforcing momentum-driven trends.”
He highlighted that Bitcoin’s relatively low funding rate (only 15% annually), combined with the recent surge in altcoin trading, clearly signals the beginning of an altcoin season. The expert also advised traders to stay disciplined and take advantage of these opportunities.
Ripple XRP Earnings
XRP has been staging a historic rally over the past month, crossing the $2.80 mark for the first time in nearly seven years. At the time of writing, CoinGecko data shows the token trading at $2.67, just 21.3% below its all-time high of $3.40 in January 2018.
This price surge has propelled XRP to become the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, surpassing Solana (SOL) and Tether (USDT).
South Korea has been a major contributor to this surge, with XRP/KRW trading volume on Upbit, the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, reaching $3.8 billion on December 2. According to blockchain analysis firm Scopescan, this figure It was 11 times greater than the Bitcoin trading volume on the platform.
Thielen’s report also highlighted the global shift towards more cryptocurrency-friendly policies. Trading activity has changed since Trump’s election, and with the new US administration expected to support cryptocurrencies, he believes this momentum will likely persist.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also recently discussed the impact of Trump’s win, noting that US-based crypto companies have benefited from his victory due to Democrats’ hostile stance toward the industry. This has been proven to be true, and XRP has seen impressive gains since then.
Thielen added that South Korea and other countries are also taking a more favorable approach to cryptocurrencies, which he believes could lead to greater global opportunities for digital asset trading.
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