TLDR:XRP rally: The token captured 32.20% of Upbit turnover after the exchange processed about $830 million within a single Saturday hour.Upbit volume jumped 273% to $1.84 billion on August 21, then reached roughly $3.81 billion during the latest 24-hour period.Bithumb volume rose 132.9% to $934.9 million on August 21, showing the Korean trading rebound extended beyond one exchange.Ripple added Jeonbuk Bank as its third Korean partner in 2026, while Brad Garlinghouse renewed calls for clearer United States rules.The XRP rally has placed South Korea at the center of crypto trading again. Upbit processed about $830 million within one hour on Saturday. Its 24-hour turnover later reached about $3.81 billion. XRP captured 32.20% of that activity, leading every competing asset. Coingecko data shows XRP is trading near $1.50 after a 50% seven-day gain. Bitcoin helped revive broader risk appetite, yet Korean traders concentrated on XRP. The move extends a sharp rebound that began on August 21. Upbit daily volume then jumped 273% to $1.84 billion, its busiest day since mid-March. Meanwhile, Bithumb recorded a triple-digit increase in daily turnover.XRP PriceXRP Rally Commands Upbit as Korean Volumes ReboundXRP generated the largest share of Upbit turnover during the burst. TRUMP ranked second with 10.93%, while USDT held 8.39%. Ethereum and Bitcoin followed with 5.44% and 5.40%, respectively.The breakdown shows a concentrated rotation rather than a uniform market rebound. XRP drew three times TRUMP’s share and almost six times Bitcoin’s. The XRP rally coincided with the token outperforming the wider crypto market over seven days.Digital Asset Investor highlighted the Korean flow. The commentator said “XRP is smoking everything else” during the move. He linked the pattern to earlier bull cycles, when Korean trading frequently supplied substantial XRP liquidity.XRP Setting RecordsWatch The Full Youtube Video Here:https://t.co/TJkTBmZdpu pic.twitter.com/hT0A1scynL— Digital Asset Investor (@digitalassetbuy) August 23, 2026South Korean investors have long treated XRP differently from many large-cap tokens. Won-denominated markets provide direct access, while XRP’s payment narrative attracts a familiar retail audience. Rapid price changes can pull sidelined traders back quickly.The XRP rally extends beyond Upbit. Bithumb’s August 21 volume climbed 132.9% to about $934.9 million. Its later 24-hour turnover reached nearly $1.95 billion, while Coinone processed $172 million.Those figures follow a quiet first half for Korean exchanges. Upbit and Bithumb each reported operating revenue declines near 50%. Many local investors instead favored domestic shares during the KOSPI’s artificial-intelligence and semiconductor rally.The XRP rally now tests whether that capital rotation can persist. A single weekend cannot establish a durable trend. Still, activity across several exchanges shows the rebound extends beyond one venue or trading pair.Ripple Expands While Washington Revisits Crypto RulesRipple’s commercial expansion gives Korean interest another reference point. Jeonbuk Bank became Korea’s first regional bank to deploy Ripple Payments. The service targets cross-border payments and supports near real-time settlement.The agreement represents Ripple’s third South Korean partnership during 2026. Earlier work involved Kbank and Kyobo Life Insurance. These projects cover remittances, wallet infrastructure, custody, and tokenized government-bond settlement.That institutional activity does not directly create XRP exchange demand. Ripple Payments can operate without customers buying the token. The partnerships keep Ripple’s technology visible within Korea’s financial sector while retail turnover accelerates.The XRP rally also arrived during renewed debate over American crypto rules. Ripple chief executive Brad Garlinghouse told a CFTC advisory panel that the company spent about $150 million on outside counsel. The spending covered its four-year legal fight with the SEC.Garlinghouse said the approach failed consumers and innovation. His remarks supported calls for clearer boundaries between securities and commodities oversight. Definitions could shape how exchanges, issuers, and institutional investors handle digital assets.The CLARITY Act remains central to that debate. President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass a fair version during an August 19 White House event. The bill would define oversight, although disputes have delayed Senate progress.Source: Kalshi marketsPrediction markets reflect shifting expectations after the XRP rally. Kalshi’s year-end market listed thresholds above $2, $2.50, and $3 on Sunday. Contract prices changed with trader positioning throughout the session.At publication, traders assigned those levels probabilities of 61%, 37%, and 26%, respectively. Kalshi resolves the contracts using CF Benchmarks prices observed before December 31. A qualifying price only needs to appear once before expiration.The post XRP Rally Drives Upbit Volume as South Korean Traders Return appeared first on Blockonomi.