U.S. and South Korean exchanges drive a trading spike, making XRP among the top traded assets.
XRP hit a new all-time high of $3.65, largely driven by a spike in trading activity across South Korea and the United States.
XRP recorded a total volume of $22 billion, surpassing the combined volume of all top-10 non-stablecoin digital assets outside of Bitcoin and Ethereum.
CoinMarketCap data confirms that this surge concentrated heavily in South Korea and the US, with XRP accounting for over one-third of trades on Upbit, South Korea’s largest crypto exchange.
Meanwhile, in the US, crypto analyst Dom highlighted strong spot market activity, with observers noting significant buy pressure on major platforms such as Coinbase and Kraken.
We’re seeing a clear wave of retail flood in. Unit bias is in full effect – XRP’s lower price makes it psychologically more attractive.
Dom noted:
CoinMarketCap also confirmed that XRP led trading volume on these US platforms during the same period of its upward market run.
Deepfake Video Emerges
As XRP’s price action grabs attention, scammers have moved quickly to exploit the moment.
On July 18, a deepfake video circulated on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). It showed what appeared to be Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse promoting a fake XRP giveaway.
The video featured a convincing AI-generated impersonation of Garlinghouse. It praised the community for its support in Ripple’s ongoing legal battle with the US SEC. The impersonator then promised a 100 million XRP airdrop and directed viewers to visit a fraudulent website.
Ripple’s Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz quickly debunked the video. He labeled it a scam and warned users that the clip was AI-generated and had no affiliation with the firm or its leadership. He also urged the community to stay vigilant against phishing attacks, which often coincide with market upswings.
These schemes typically lure users with fake rewards and prompt them to enter sensitive wallet details, which leads to theft.
Notably, Garlinghouse has frequently spoken out against such tactics. Last year, Ripple released an official warning featuring the CEO to raise awareness about the growing use of deepfakes and impersonation scams in the crypto industry.
