Upbit holds the biggest XRP reserves among CEXs, accumulates ‘Made in USA’ tokens

The recent popularity of XRP for US traders also pointed to another crypto event. South Korean exchanges, and especially Upbit, accumulated XRP aggressively. Currently, Upbit still carries more XRP than Binance. 

Upbit built up the biggest balances of XRP, even surpassing Binance. The South Korean exchange carries over 5.96B XRP tokens, compared to Binance’s 2.9B. 

XRP is also the most actively traded asset on Upbit, with over $651M in daily volumes. Upbit almost matches Binance in terms of XRP activity, and it also offers a Korean won premium for the asset. 

XRP has been revived with a narrative of being a “Made in USA” crypto. The native token, which was at one point airdropped widely, only regained its value status after the US Securities and Exchange Commission withdrew intentions of prolonging a lawsuit that ran for years. 

Upbit also retains its advantage after Binance restricted and delisted XRP pairs. Currently, Upbit is driving a significant part of XRP activity based on Korean won pairs. 

The premium on Upbit lifted XRP to as high as $2.65, while most exchanges traded the asset at around $2.58. The Korean won is also growing its share of XRP activity, often rising above 20% of all trading volumes. 

XRP also had a sudden spike in trading as of March 6, becoming the most actively traded asset in the Korean markets. The exchanges are isolated from international liquidity due to banking requirements, but they often reflect global crypto trends with even greater trading enthusiasm. 

Upbit boosts buying for ‘Made in USA’ crypto

Upbit is showing a trend for active trading for some of the assets labeled as “Made in USA.” The recent spike in XRP activity tracked US attempts to onboard top assets for a government reserve. XRP also rallied after mentions of new crypto-friendly legislation. 

Other South Korean exchanges choose different paths for carrying XRP. Kucoin divested its holdings in the past few months. Bithumb started accumulating again at the end of 2024 and now carries over 1.5B XRP.

Among top trending tokens, Upbit also saw a spike in trading volumes for Ondo (ONDO). The asset has links to US-based crypto activities and is one of the tokens held by Trump’s World Liberty Fi. 

ONDO traded at $1.19 on Upbit, with a small premium against the general price of $1.17 on other exchanges. Ondo Finance was not mentioned in the potential US strategic reserve, though it was one of the leading platforms for real-world asset tokenization.

In addition to active trading, Upbit’s wallets also accumulated currently trending assets. Upbit currently carries over 391M ONDO, up from 280M at the beginning of the year. Ondo’s founder Nat Eliason will attend the White House crypto meetup, which will include top founders and influencers like Ripple Labs’ Brad Garlinghouse also confirmed to be in attendance.

XRP recovers open interest

The recent market enthusiasm for XRP is helping the asset recover its open interest. Within hours, XRP added $100M to its positions, from $1.44B to $1.54B. 

XRP still carries over 68% in long positions, causing some concerns about liquidations. The recent rally also caused $1.82M in liquidations in the past hour, as XRP became the most liquidated asset in the short term. 

This time, the XRP price expansion is causing a clearance of short positions, affecting those that were bearish about the asset.

XRP currently rides on the narrative of wider US-based adoption. The price is having a short-term breakout, with some predictions of trading above $3. Currently, the retail sentiment for XRP is neutral, but smart money traders remain bullish. 

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