AI-linked cryptocurrencies grew to become South Korea’s main crypto class by June 2026, overtaking payment-focused property comparable to XRP, in response to Chainalysis. The discovering displays a shift in retail buying and selling preferences in an area with a protracted historical past with Ripple XRP.
Chainalysis examined crypto exercise from July 2025 by means of June 2026, measuring thematic classes by their share of Korean won-denominated buying and selling quantity.
East Asia's $1.2T+ crypto economic system reveals outstanding variety: South Korea ($449B) leads with an AI-crypto pivot, Hong Kong sees 87% institutional progress, Japan's retail market expands 36% on DEXs, and China's stablecoin P2P wallets grew 43x. Learn our new chapter from the 2026…
— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) October 5, 2026
Towards that retail rotation, reviews describe an exploratory Ripple–Meritz evaluation of custody and tokenization infrastructure. The important thing distinction is between altering market narratives and a product really working.
That distinction issues for anybody monitoring the distinction between Ripple’s institutional relationships and confirmed XRP use. The Chainalysis information set up that AI led the outlined thematic classes; they don’t present that XRP has disappeared from Korean buying and selling or that Ripple’s company enlargement is translating into token demand.
AI Tokens Lead the Crypto Rotation in South Korea
(SOURCE: CoinGecko)
Chainalysis recognized AI cryptocurrencies as South Korea’s hottest thematically outlined funding class by June 2026. The report defines this group as property linked to AI-focused initiatives or AI infrastructure, and compares classes utilizing their share of won-denominated trading-not a measure of all Korean crypto exercise.
The main AI-linked tokens by reported buying and selling quantity have been Worldcoin (WLD) at $7.41Bn, SAHARA at $3.2Bn, VIRTUAL at $2.7Bn, BIO at $2Bn, and NEAR at $1.7Bn. The leaderboard has additionally shifted: VIRTUAL and KAITO led AI-related tokens in 2025 earlier than Worldcoin and SAHARA moved forward.
Chainalysis stated Korean retail merchants moved by means of the AI class sooner and extra intensely than merchants within the different markets it lined. That turnover reveals thematic management can shift shortly. It describes exercise over the report’s measurement interval, not a assure that any token will retain consideration or that each commerce represents a long-term funding.
The broader South Korea crypto market additionally grew through the interval. Chainalysis recorded about $449Bn in crypto exercise, up 12.3%, whereas the nation’s alternate ecosystem grew 16.3%. These figures describe general market enlargement; they don’t establish XRP because the trigger or present that the token shared equally in that progress.
Why the AI Rotation Issues for Ripple XRP
HUGE: South Korea is getting ready to deliver $7 TRILLION price shares, bonds and funds onto blockchain rails from February 2027! $AVAX $XRP
And there’s two ecosystems have already got critical Korean connections…
Hanwha Funding & Securities has constructed a HUGE tokenised securities… pic.twitter.com/DO2Y5C1DLr
— ALLINCRYPTO (@RealAllinCrypto) October 3, 2026
In June 2026, South Korea’s AI crypto buying and selling outperformed different currencies, with the received’s share at 19.5 instances that of the yen. AI cryptocurrencies accounted for 0.91% of yen-denominated buying and selling, in contrast with 1.02% for euros, 0.20% for the Brazilian actual, and 0.03% for British kilos.
This pattern is attributed to South Korea’s involvement within the AI funding cycle, notably on account of SK Hynix, a key memory-chip producer. Retail buyers largely drive the market, indicating robust curiosity in AI tokens.
Whereas AI property surpassed fee tokens, this doesn’t essentially imply Ripple XRP has misplaced significance in South Korea. The continuing Ripple–Meritz evaluation remains to be exploratory, missing affirmation of XRP’s utilization or transaction volumes.
Future developments, comparable to a disclosed product or business deployment, will make clear Ripple’s place, whereas AI-linked property at present dominate the retail market.
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The publish AI Crypto Tokens Take South Korea by Storm, Overtaking Ripple XRP appeared first on 99Bitcoins.
