Did XRP Surpass Bitcoin on Korean Exchanges? A Fact Check

A claim has been circulating online that XRP has overtaken Bitcoin in trading volume on South Korean exchanges, with its price hitting an unbelievable $50.17 per token. The news quickly gained attention, sparking a lot of people to question whether it’s true.

It all started when a Twitter account called “ Crypto Geek ,” with nearly 85K followers, posted a tweet claiming, “XRP Surpasses Bitcoin on Korean Exchanges! In South Korea, $XRP is valued at $50.17 USD, yet global exchanges list it much lower—this price gap is outrageous!” The tweet even included an image of a document that seemed to provide further “proof” of the claim. 

According to the shared document, XRP’s trading volume had flipped Bitcoin’s on South Korean exchanges, allegedly driven by an adoption push from Crypto Trading Fund (CTF). 

The claim suggested that CTF’s reward system, which lets users earn and redeem tokens, was behind the surge in XRP’s trading volume. It also threw out the wild idea that CTF tokens, currently valued at $1.10, could jump to an unbelievable $519.95. The claim spread like wildfire in the crypto community, with people rushing to see if it was actually true.

But after looking into it, the whole thing falls apart. No credible source, no expert validation—just another baseless rumor making the rounds. A quick search on Google and social media brings up nothing to support it. And the image that came with the tweet? Clearly doctored. 

South Korea is known for its active cryptocurrency market, and phenomena like the “Kimchi Premium” can lead to price discrepancies where assets trade at a premium locally compared to global markets due to high demand and capital controls. However, a gap as extreme as $50.17 versus a global price of $2–$3 would be extraordinary.

It’s possible this figure reflects a past anomaly, a misunderstanding, or even misinformation circulating online. South Korea’s crypto market has seen significant XRP activity—Upbit, for example, has been noted as a leader in XRP trading volume—but this doesn’t inherently support such a dramatic price difference today.

It’s not the first time we’ve seen over-the-top rumors like this. Let this be a reminder to double-check before jumping on the hype train. In this case, the supposed XRP surge is nothing but a fake tweet and altered images.