South Korea’s crypto markets are experiencing a notable upswing, driven by a powerful $1 billion short squeeze and improving global sentiment following a thaw in U.S.-China trade tensions.
Retail investors in the region are pouring into high-beta altcoins like XRP and Dogecoin (DOGE), signaling a revival of speculative risk appetite. On Korean exchanges, trading volumes for both tokens have outpaced those of bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) over the past 24 hours, highlighting a rotation into more volatile assets.
XRP and DOGE have each surged more than 15% over the past week, eclipsing bitcoin’s 10% gain. Meanwhile, ether has posted an explosive 40% rally—its strongest weekly performance since the 2021 bull market.
“Risk assets have rebounded sharply, reaching levels that are putting pressure on remaining macro bears,” noted Augustine Fan, head of insights at crypto options platform SignalPlus. “We think the path of maximum pain remains higher as markets continue to force capitulation.”
Data from UpBit, South Korea’s largest exchange, shows 24-hour volumes for XRP/KRW and DOGE/KRW topping $250 million, well above the $150 million combined volumes for BTC and ETH. The spike in activity evokes memories of the “Kimchi premium” era, where local traders aggressively pursued high-volatility trades during bullish cycles.
This latest move is also being fueled by a broader crypto market rally following last week’s massive short squeeze. The unwinding of heavily shorted positions pushed prices higher across the board as traders scrambled to cover losses.
“We view the recent surge as a textbook short squeeze in a lopsided market,” Fan added. “There’s little evidence to suggest that ETH ETF inflows played a major role—this looks like pure native positioning.”
Momentum in Korean markets also reflects a broader sense of geopolitical relief. On Monday, U.S. and Chinese officials announced a significant tariff rollback—cutting duties on selected goods to 30% from 145% for 90 days—a major de-escalation after months of uncertainty.
“With trade tensions easing and talk of rate cuts gaining traction, investors are becoming more comfortable with risk,” said Jeff Mei, COO of BTSE. “If the Fed adopts a dovish tone next month, we could see bitcoin make a serious push toward new highs, reigniting institutional interest and lending activity.”
While market participants keep an eye on ETF flows and central bank developments in June, the current surge appears to be led by speculative altcoin enthusiasm—a hallmark of South Korea’s crypto culture.
