Janice R. Andrews
This week, the volume of XRP traded on South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges exceeded that of Bitcoin, indicating a spike in demand brought on by hope regarding Ripple’s ongoing legal troubles. Due to this unanticipated move, XRP now represents more than 40% of trade activity on UpBit, the biggest exchange in the nation, and more than 35% on Bithumb and Korbit. The rise suggests that South Korean traders are showing a great deal of interest in XRP, outpacing the two market leaders, Bitcoin and Tether’s USDT.
XRP’s trading volumes on these platforms exceeded those of Bitcoin, which usually leads the market, according to data from CoinGecko. This odd event suggests that there is more short-term demand in South Korea for XRP due to recent developments in Ripple’s lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States.
Even Nevertheless, Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) continued to be the most traded coins on international platforms like Binance and OKX. Moreover, earlier this week saw a significant increase in open interest in XRP-tracked futures, with a positive inclination.
Trading Dynamics and Market Sentiment
There was a noticeable buzz about XRP, but by Friday, everything had back to normal as Bitcoin’s trading volume surpassed XRP’s in the midst of a wider market decline. Within a day, the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) dropped 1.9%, with XRP falling 8% and Bitcoin (BTC) losing 1.3%.
Within the cryptocurrency space, South Korean traders are known for instigating exuberant rallies on a variety of tokens, hence generating substantial purchasing pressure and impacting market values. Bradley Park, a Web3 analyst at CryptoQuant, pointed out that local influencers and media have an effect on the volume of XRP trades. He credited the uptick to more media attention given to Ripple-related SEC news.
Legal Advancements and Market Responses
The introduction of indices and reference rates for XRP was announced last week by major futures platforms CME and CF Benchmarks, which sparked the current advances in XRP. Subsequently, Ripple Labs CEO Brad Garlinghouse gave a critical interview on Bloomberg TV on Wednesday, during which he expressed hope that the legal battle with the SEC will be resolved “very soon.” According to Bitget head analyst Ryan Lee, his remarks appeared to increase market confidence in XRP.
Lee, however, issued a warning about future price reversal and advised against being overly excited about the current advance. “There may be some degree of price pullback in early August due to the potential technical correction that the current spike in XRP might cause. But, the price might rise further if it can hold above important support levels, like $0.70,” according to Lee.
Gazing Forward
The XRP trading frenzy may abate in the next few days, but the token’s success in South Korea highlights how important legal news and market mood are to the number of cryptocurrency trades. While potential dips should always be avoided, traders should also be mindful of the underlying support levels that can keep XRP’s momentum going.
The cryptocurrency market will probably continue to respond to fresh developments as Ripple’s legal battle with the SEC drags on, making it a highly monitored asset in the industry. The fact that trade volumes on South Korean exchanges have increased this week is evidence of the volatile and constantly changing nature of the bitcoin markets.
