South Korea retail crypto trading reaches $18 billion in one day

Retail cryptocurrency trading in South Korea hit $18 billion within 24 hours on December 2, surpassing the country’s stock market volume of $14 billion.

According to 10x Research, this surge represents the second-highest crypto trading volume recorded in the nation this year.

Altcoins, particularly Ripple’s XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) and Dogecoin (CRYPTO:DOGE), were the primary drivers behind this spike.

Ripple’s XRP accounted for $6.3 billion of the trading volume, followed by Dogecoin at $1.6 billion, Stellar (CRYPTO:XLM) at $1.3 billion, Ethereum Name Service (ENS) at $900 million, and Hedera (CRYPTO:HBAR) at $800 million.

“These high-momentum cryptocurrencies are being driven predominantly by retail traders, capitalising on and reinforcing momentum-driven trends,” Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, noted.

Thielen also observed that the increase in altcoin trading activity, coupled with Bitcoin’s annual funding rate of just 15%, signals the beginning of an altcoin season.

He advised traders to remain disciplined while exploring these market opportunities.

XRP has experienced a significant rally, crossing $2.80 for the first time in nearly seven years.

Currently, the token trades at $2.67, just 21.3% below its all-time high of $3.40 set in January 2018.

This price momentum has positioned XRP as the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, surpassing Solana (CRYPTO:SOL) and Tether (CRYPTO:USDT).

The trading volume for XRP/KRW on Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, reached $3.8 billion on December 2, which was 11 times higher than Bitcoin’s volume on the platform.

Thielen attributed this growth to changing global policies, including a shift toward crypto-friendly regulations in South Korea and other countries.

“South Korea and other countries are adopting a more favorable approach to crypto, which could lead to expanded global opportunities for digital asset trading,” he emphasised.