Bitcoin’s rebound is drawing South Korean traders back into crypto: trading on the country’s two largest exchanges surged sharply this week, with Upbit’s 24-hour volume jumping 273% to roughly $1.84 billion and Bithumb’s rising 132.9% to about $934.9 million, CoinGecko data show for Aug. 21. The spike was notable not just for size but for its leader: XRP logged about $418.9 million of transactions on Upbit, beating Bitcoin, USDT and Ether to become the exchange’s top-traded asset. XRP also ranked first on Bithumb’s volume board. That pattern—XRP topping local volume charts—has recurred several times this year, including a May surge when XRP accounted for over $330 million on Upbit versus about $217 million for Bitcoin. The volume rebound follows months of muted crypto activity in South Korea, where investors spent much of 2026 chasing record gains in domestic stocks. The KOSPI’s strength, driven in large part by demand for AI-memory-related names such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, drew capital away from digital assets. By late May, combined turnover across major local exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax) had dropped to roughly 8% of KOSPI trading volume, a steep reversal from late 2024 when crypto volumes sometimes eclipsed equities. That slowdown hit exchange earnings. Upbit and Bithumb reported operating revenues down about 50% in H1 2026; Upbit’s net profit plunged 74%, while Bithumb moved from a profit year-over-year to a net loss. Negative Bitcoin Korea Premium readings in May also signaled weaker local demand relative to overseas markets. Some institutional buying has continued despite the soft patch. In May, three Samsung affiliates agreed to purchase roughly 4% of Dunamu, Upbit’s operator, for about $408 million—Samsung Securities taking a 2% stake and Samsung SDS and Samsung Card each taking 1%. Earlier in May, Hana Financial Group’s Hana Bank announced plans to buy a 1 trillion won (roughly $670 million) stake in Dunamu. Meanwhile, Kiwoom Securities entered talks in June about a potential investment in Bithumb via newly issued shares. The timing of the recent volume surge lines up with a sharp Bitcoin rebound after the U.S. Treasury on Aug. 19 expanded its debt buyback program, a move markets initially read as liquidity-supportive. Bitcoin climbed back above $69,000 and later pushed higher; at publication it had gained about 8.3% over 24 hours and was trading above $78,000, while the total crypto market rose roughly 7.2%. Min Jung, an associate researcher at Presto Research, cautioned that two days of strong activity aren’t enough to call a full rotation from equities into crypto. “While it’s too early to call this a rotation given it’s only been two days, we’d expect a much larger influx of capital into crypto if the rally holds,” Jung said. She characterized South Korean retail as “return-chasing” rather than “asset-loyal,” meaning capital can swiftly flow to whichever market posts the best returns. That behavior suggests that if global momentum for crypto continues, Korea’s inflows could meaningfully amplify prices—even if Korean traders typically follow, rather than initiate, global rallies. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news