XRP Holds Up on Korean Buying Pressure Despite Downtrend

On Upbit and Bithumb, XRP demand remains unusually strong, with bids still sitting above asks. Even so, the token is trapped in a downtrend, and $1.09 is the next level to watch.

Key Takeaways

• XRP is down about 2% today, but it has already rebounded roughly 4% from its August low and is still trading inside a down channel.
• South Korean market data points to strong buying interest: on Upbit, bids near the current price are about twice the size of asks.
• Traders are watching $1.09 as the key resistance level. If XRP loses $1.08, then $1.03 and $0.95 come into focus.

XRP is trading about 2% lower today, but it has still climbed roughly 4% off the August low. Even with that bounce, the token remains locked in a down channel, although South Korean trading activity and recent inflow data suggest buyers are still stepping in.

Korean Bids Are Holding Up

On Upbit, XRP ranks third among 275 Korean won markets by 24-hour volume, trailing only Tether and Bitcoin. That is another reminder of how important XRP remains for South Korean traders, where it has long been one of the most actively traded altcoins.

Within 1% of the current market price, the combined bids on Upbit and Bithumb are about twice as large as the asks, a gap of roughly 34%. That does not tell us where the price goes next on its own, but it does show that more buy-side liquidity is sitting close to the market than sell orders. XRP is also trading at a slight premium on Bybit versus the global price, though it is still too small to count as a full premium event.

Momentum Is Slowly Turning Up

The chart is still printing lower lows, but the selling pressure appears to be fading. Since early June, the RSI has moved up from below 20 to the low 40s at the August low, even as price kept sliding. That mismatch between price and momentum is a sign of bullish divergence, although it is not yet a confirmed trend reversal.

The derivatives market also looks relatively calm. The Bybit perpetual funding rate is around +0.006%, which is only slightly positive. In other words, longs are not being crowded in aggressively, so the recent bounce does not appear to be driven by excessive leverage.

Why This Matters

For European crypto readers, the main point is that XRP is once again showing how regional trading patterns in South Korea can help support price, even when the broader trend is still weak. The local market is also shifting, with retail volumes falling while institutional activity and regulatory changes matter more. In that environment, XRP, helped by the spot-only structure of local exchanges, can still be a relatively popular high-beta trade for some investors.

Levels That Matter

The market is now focused on $1.09 (€0.94). A daily close above that level would break the down channel and give the recent rebound more credibility. If that happens, $1.16 (€1.01), the July swing near $1.18 (€1.02), and a broader target at $1.29 (€1.12) would all come into play.

On the downside, $1.08 (€0.94) is important as the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement. If XRP closes below that level on a daily basis, $1.03 (€0.89) is the first support to watch, followed by $0.95 (€0.82), which sits roughly near the middle of the channel. Until XRP breaks out, Korean buying pressure remains a support factor inside a trend that is still weakening.