Capital rotation in South Korea’s crypto market has intensified into an extreme trading imbalance, with XRP absorbing the bulk of retail liquidity on Upbit. Latest Upbit data cited via CoinMarketCap showed the XRP/KRW pair leading exchange activity at $319 million in daily volume, or 21.86% of all trading, ahead of Tether at $179 million, Bitcoin at $125.33 million and Ethereum at $92 million. The move extends a weekend shift in which Korean investors took profits from KOSPI technology names such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix—favored during the first-half 2026 crypto downturn and the global AI boom—and redirected funds onto crypto exchanges. Upbit’s daily turnover had already surged about 250% to roughly $1.8 billion on Friday, with Bithumb up about 132%, and XRP drawing more than $418 million in retail inflows at its peak. XRP later held near $1.51 (about 2,073 won), breaking a long-term downtrend in place since July of the prior year, while the kimchi premium stayed negative around -0.5%, indicating local prices tracked global markets even as Korean volumes appeared to help drive the worldwide advance. Sustainability remains uncertain after Korean exchange revenues nearly halved following earlier capital outflows, and after a related Aug. 22, 2026 volatility episode that included heavy Upbit turnover, a Bitstamp-specific XRP wick and a broader long-led liquidation wave.