“Coinbase Whales Now Behind XRP’s 400% Price Rally, Moving Past the Korea Speculation”

South Korean investors have played a key role in XRP’s impressive 30-day price surge of over 400%, pushing it up to $2.60, but they are not the only market movers. While South Korea’s crypto market is known for its heavy engagement with altcoins, U.S. investors on platforms like Coinbase have also significantly impacted XRP’s price action.

In the last month, the XRP/USD pair on Coinbase has consistently traded at a premium compared to Binance’s XRP/USDT pair, with price differences ranging from 3% to 13%, according to data from CryptoQuant. This suggests active participation by large investors, or “whales,” on Coinbase. In contrast, XRP has not seen notable premiums on Upbit, the leading exchange in South Korea.

The Coinbase premium could be linked to the broader market narrative surrounding increased crypto adoption under former President Donald Trump. Some believe that a more crypto-friendly environment under Trump’s administration is helping reduce regulatory barriers, which has led to speculation that XRP may eventually be adopted as a “bridge currency” for foreign exchange transactions by major financial institutions. According to FRNT Financial’s analysis, Trump’s policy approach has bolstered the thesis that XRP could become integral to international capital flows, especially in the settlement of foreign exchange.

Despite the strong premium on Coinbase, South Korea still leads in XRP trading volume. Over the past 24 hours, XRP/KRW on Upbit has recorded a volume of $7.63 billion, making up 26% of the total trading activity in the XRP market, according to Coingecko data. Meanwhile, on Coinbase, the XRP/USD pair has seen $1.7 billion in 24-hour trading volume, representing 17% of the exchange’s total turnover of $9.89 billion. BTC/USD follows closely with a volume of $1.59 billion.

Interestingly, while U.S. exchanges have seen rising activity with XRP’s re-listing earlier this year, South Korean exchanges continue to dominate in overall volume. This is likely due to the long period during which XRP was unavailable for trading in the U.S. because of the SEC’s legal case against Ripple. However, after a favorable outcome in the legal dispute, XRP was re-listed, and the surge in trading volume followed.