XRP Surpasses Bitcoin In Trading Volume Across Korean Exchanges Amid Ripple-SEC Settlement Hopes

The recent positive XRP price action appears to have sparked a new wave of investors’ interest in the cross-border payments coin. XRP trading volume overtook that of Bitcoin (BTC) on South Korean crypto exchanges such as UpBit and Bithumb this week. The fresh market optimism around XRP comes amid speculation of a potential settlement in the ongoing SEC vs. Ripple case.

XRP Trading Volume Flips BTC In Korea

XRP has once again demonstrated its dominance in the crypto market by attracting the lion’s share of trading volumes in South Korea.

Data compiled by CoinGecko indicates that XRP was responsible for as much as 40% of trading activity on South Korea’s largest exchange, UpBit, and more than 35% on Bithumb and Korbit earlier in the week. While XRP recorded a staggering $650M in trading volume, BTC saw a far less volume of $282M. Overtaking the usual market leaders BTC and Tether’s USDT suggests a short-term demand for XRP among investors in S. Korea.

It’s worth mentioning that in July last year, the coin flipped Bitcoin on the Korean market by a huge margin. This happened when the asset’s value rocketed to the $0.93 mark, sparked by bullish sentiment around the historic ruling in its lawsuit against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Meanwhile, XRP surged by nearly 40% to $0.64 earlier this week amid widespread speculation that Ripple Labs was nearing a settlement agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — though it fell back to $0.56 lows after the agency gave notice that a closed-door meeting was canceled.

Settlement Incoming?

XRP is seeing renewed attention as the SEC reschedules a closed meeting for July 25. The forthcoming meeting has fueled speculation about long-awaited resolution talks between Ripple and the SEC after years of legal turmoil. Notably, the agenda for this upcoming meeting contains a handful of the same items as the previous agenda for the canceled July 18 meeting, including “institution and settlement of administrative proceedings, resolution of litigation claims, and other matters relating to examinations and enforcement proceedings.” 

As you may recall, the securities watchdog is now seeking a $103 million fine for unregistered sales to institutions, while Ripple wants to pay not more than $10 million. Interestingly, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently said he expects the resolution of legal issues with the SEC “very soon”.

Although the specifics of the meeting next week remain unclear, the community is closely watching the unfolding of the case, hoping for developments that could positively impact XRP’s future.

The outcome of the SEC’s suit could also have far-reaching implications for the wider crypto industry, as it may help to determine the regulator’s jurisdiction over crypto assets.