South Korean crypto traders bet big on XRP, DOGE, and BTC as risky trades market return

South Korean retail cryptocurrency investors are showing a strong preference for high-volatility tokens. Over the past 24 hours, XRP and Dogecoin (DOGE) significantly outperformed Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) in trading volume on Upbit, South Korea's largest crypto exchange.

Upbit data reveals DOGE commanded 10.23% of the platform's $2.86 billion total trading volume, with XRP closely behind at 9.49%. This surpasses BTC and ETH's combined volume by 3%. Both DOGE and XRP exceeded $250 million in trading volume, compared to approximately $180 million each for BTC and ETH.

This surge in volume follows a bullish trend in the South Korean crypto market, including a $1 billion short squeeze last week. The global crypto market cap also recently reached a 3-month high of $3.4 trillion, according to Coingecko.

Factors Contributing to Increased XRP Trading:

Santiment data indicates that whales accumulated over 880 million XRP tokens in the past month, suggesting growing confidence in the token's potential. XRP recently reached a seven-week high of $2.4712, fueled by social media speculation that BlackRock might be considering an XRP-based exchange-traded fund (ETF). While unconfirmed, these rumors followed an undisclosed meeting between BlackRock and the US SEC, potentially involving discussions about XRP.

Both XRP and DOGE have seen impressive gains, exceeding 11% in the past seven days, outpacing Bitcoin's 10% increase. Ethereum's performance was even more remarkable, with a nearly 40% jump—its largest weekly rise since 2021. Augustine Fan, head of insights at SignalPlus, attributes this to a classic market short squeeze.

At the time of writing, XRP is trading at 3,405 KRW, up 3% in the last day, while DOGE has surged 8%.

Echoes of the "Kimchi Premium":

This trading activity in South Korea mirrors previous periods of intense retail speculation, reminiscent of the "Kimchi Premium" era, where South Korean traders paid significant premiums for high-risk crypto assets. The South Korean market is often viewed as a key indicator of retail investor sentiment. The current rally is speculated to reflect easing geopolitical tensions between the US and Asia, following a recent announcement of mutual tariff reductions.

Crypto ETFs and the Upcoming Presidential Election:

The surge in retail activity coincides with the upcoming South Korean presidential election on June 3, 2025. Kim Moon-soo, a candidate, has proposed introducing spot crypto ETFs, aiming to institutionalize digital currencies through legal reforms designed to benefit the middle class and enhance investor protection. Current polls suggest a lead for the Democratic Party candidate.