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Ahmed Barakat
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CryptoNews Editorial Team
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Upbit recorded 8.35 trillion won ($6.28 billion) in trading volume for the week ending October 18, 2026, a 15.5% decline from the prior week. XRP nevertheless ranked first on South Korea’s largest exchange despite the news, ahead of Bitcoin and USDT. The contrast is clear: overall activity cooled, but trading attention remained concentrated in XRP.
There was a 19.56% fall in trading volume across major South Korean platforms in the preceding week, a separate period that points to cooling; against that comparison, Upbit’s 15.5% contraction was milder. During mid-October, its 24-hour trading volumes ranged from about $340 million to more than $1.2 billion on active days.
Upbit has consistently held the leading position in South Korea and regularly outpaced rival Bithumb. Upbit volumes have often reacted to moves in domestic stock markets, suggesting Korean traders may treat equities and crypto as competing or neighboring risk exposures.
At the same time, South Korea has been blocking 27 offshore exchanges, which belongs to the wider regulatory backdrop.
For now, lower turnover can leave order books thinner, increasing the potential price impact of large market orders. That is a liquidity consideration.
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XRP finished ahead of Bitcoin and USDT, with Bitcoin second and USDT third. That ordering shows where reported trading activity was concentrated on Upbit. USDT’s third-place finish adds a different kind of signal: it shows the stablecoin was among the exchange’s most-traded assets.
The key figures are best read together, without treating turnover as a directional price indicator:
| Metric | Reported figure | What it establishes |
| Upbit weekly volume | 8.35 trillion won, about $6.28 billion | Total turnover through October 18 |
| Week-over-week change | Down 15.5% | Lower volume than the prior week |
| Asset ranking | XRP, Bitcoin, USDT | Relative ordering, not net flows |
| Major South Korean platforms | Down 19.56% in a preceding week | Broader cooling in a different period |
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The next weekly print will show whether Upbit turnover stabilizes near 8.35 trillion won or continues to contract. XRP’s position at the top of the volume table is the other useful checkpoint: retaining it through a quieter market would confirm continued relative concentration.
The preceding 19.56% sector-wide decline also frames the competitive question. Bithumb and other domestic venues face the challenge of attracting activity in a softer market, not merely taking share from Upbit.
Until fresh figures clarify both aggregate turnover and asset rankings, the current data support a narrower conclusion: trading cooled, while XRP remained Upbit’s most-traded asset.
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