Upbit, South Korea's dominant crypto exchange with 70% market share, has listed Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin, opening new trading opportunities for millions of Korean investors. The addition includes trading pairs RLUSD/KRW, RLUSD/BTC, and RLUSD/USDT, integrating RLUSD directly with the Korean won and major cryptocurrencies.
RLUSD Expands Its Global Presence
Since its launch in December 2024, RLUSD has steadily gained traction across top exchanges worldwide. Platforms like Kraken and Bitstamp onboarded RLUSD early in 2025, while OKX added support in April 2026. Now, this move by Upbit marks a significant milestone in RLUSD's footprint, especially in Asia’s lucrative market.
Ripple's Stronghold in South Korea Strengthens
South Korea has historically been a key market for XRP-based assets. XRP itself surged in popularity during the 2017-2018 bull run and remains a favorite among Korean traders, partly because exchanges mainly offer KRW-denominated trading instead of stablecoin pairs. This makes XRP/KRW one of the most liquid pairs globally, with Upbit reporting XRP/KRW as its top traded market in 2025, surpassing BTC/KRW.
With RLUSD now listed, Ripple reinforces its ecosystem in a region where crypto volatility often spikes trading volumes. On platforms like Bullish and Binance, RLUSD-related markets constitute the majority of its global trading volume, with Bullish alone holding about 52%.
This latest listing could foster more solid stablecoin adoption in Korea’s crypto scene and provide Korean traders with a regulated, Ripple-backed stablecoin alternative linked to their local currency.
