XRP Surge to $1.66 and Subsequent Crash Tracked to Upbit, as Volume Hits $614M

Data shows the sudden XRP price spike to $1.66 and subsequent collapse largely came from trading activity on Upbit.

For context, XRP recorded sharp price swings over the weekend, climbing to a two-week high of $1.66 before plunging sharply within hours. Market data now suggests that activity on Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange, may have triggered much of the volatility.

Key Points

• XRP rose from $1.53 at 3 AM UTC on Sunday to $1.6698 by 8 AM UTC, marking a 9% increase within five hours.
• Following the peak, XRP collapsed to $1.44 by 20:00 UTC on the same day, a 13.7% drop within 13 hours.
• Market data now suggests that Upbit, Korea’s largest exchange, may have contributed significantly to the price swing.
• The XRP/KRW pair on Upbit has recorded $613.9 million in 24-hour trading volume, surpassing both Bitcoin and Ethereum on the platform.
• Upbit accounted for 12.16% of XRP’s global trading volume, exceeding Binance’s $461 million across two pairs and Coinbase’s $269 million.

Upbit Contributing to XRP’s Price Swings

According to a recent analysis from Dom, a widely followed market analyst and order book specialist, XRP touched $1.66 over the weekend before dropping 16% from that level. 

Interestingly, he noted that once XRP reached the $1.66 peak, Upbit began placing heavy sell pressure on the order books. Dom reported that 50 million XRP had been net sold at market over a 15-hour period. The analyst then questioned what was happening behind the scenes at the exchange, as this may reflect manipulation tactics.

Manipulation May Be Out of the Picture

However, in a follow-up analysis, Dom said he conducted full forensics on the activity. He found that wash trading accounted for less than 0.07%, suggesting that the bulk of the activity came from genuine spot selling rather than artificial volume. 

Ran full forensics: Wash trading <0.07%

Seems like real retail/institutional spot selling
12,775 unique trade sizes = likely multiple entities or sophisticated distribution

8am-12pm KST: ~2,500 sells/min, 100k-250k sizes, -12.5% impact

Upbit just has the liquidity to absorb it

— Dom (@traderview2) February 16, 2026

He concluded that the transactions appeared to come from real retail or institutional participants. Notably, this indicates that manipulation may be out of the picture.

Dom also identified 12,775 unique trade sizes, which he suggested was a sign of multiple entities or a sophisticated distribution strategy. 

Between 8 AM and 12 PM KST (11 PM and 3 AM UTC), he observed roughly 2,500 sell orders per minute, with individual trade sizes ranging from 100,000 to 250,000 XRP. He noted that this wave of selling created a 12.5% market impact. Despite the pressure, Dom stressed that Upbit had sufficient liquidity to absorb the volume.

Timeline of the Weekend XRP Price Swing

Broader market data confirms that XRP experienced one of its largest price swings over the weekend, as the market remained in a downtrend. Specifically, a recovery began on Saturday, Feb. 14, when XRP traded at $1.40 by 6 AM UTC. From that point, the asset posted a gradual but consistent climb.

By 3 AM UTC on Sunday, XRP had reached $1.53. The move gained momentum from here. Notably, between 3 AM and 8 AM UTC on Sunday, XRP surged from $1.53 to a two-week peak of $1.6698, marking a gain of more than 9% in just five hours.

However, the rally quickly reversed. By 20:00 UTC on the same Sunday, XRP had fallen from $1.6698 to $1.44. For perspective, this drop represented a 13.7% decline within 13 hours. 

Since then, the price has stabilized, fluctuating between $1.45 and $1.49. At the time of reporting, XRP trades at $1.4655. Dom now suggests that the sharp reversal largely came from massive sell volume concentrated on Upbit, which ranks among XRP’s largest trading venues globally.

Upbit’s Dominance in XRP Trading Volume

Additional market data shows Upbit’s massive role in XRP trading. The XRP/KRW pair on Upbit has posted a 24-hour trading volume of $613.9 million, making XRP the most traded asset on the platform. The volume significantly exceeded that of other major crypto assets.

Specifically, XRP’s $613.9 million volume was 3.71 times higher than Ethereum’s $165.3 million and nearly five times greater than Bitcoin’s $125 million on the same exchange. 

XRP also led trading activity on Bithumb, the second-largest exchange in Korea. On Bithumb, XRP generated more than $315 million in volume, surpassing Bitcoin’s $152 million and Ethereum’s $90 million.

On a global scale, Upbit continues to lead XRP trading activity even after the XRP/KRW volume eased to $587.9 million at press time. Upbit accounts for 12.16% of XRP’s worldwide trading volume. This figure places it ahead of Binance, which recorded $461 million across two XRP pairs, and Coinbase, which posted $269 million.