With XRP down sharply from its peak, a cryptocurrency market commentator has sparked controversy by blaming promotional activity linked to XRP for South Korean investors’ losses. No specific evidence has been presented to support the claim.

On June 9, the blockchain outlet Decrypt reported that cryptocurrency trader and market commentator Ryker (라이커) recently claimed on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that South Korean celebrities were paid by an “XRP team” to promote XRP when it was trading in the $2 to $3 range.

Ryker pointed in particular to XRP trading volume on Upbit, South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. “Upbit’s XRP volume was sometimes high enough to exceed Binance,” he said. “Many South Korean investors bought XRP and then suffered major losses as the price fell,” he added. He also said he would later reveal more people behind the promotional activity he raised as an issue.

Ryker repeated the claim in a follow-up post. He said that because South Korea is a market with a high share of cryptocurrency investors globally, the XRP project side carried out active promotion in the country by using influential figures and the media.

No material or evidence that could prove the allegations has been disclosed so far. Decrypt also reported that while Ryker raised the claims, no basis was presented to verify whether they were true.

Some in the market say XRP’s price fall is also difficult to link directly to specific promotional activity. XRP has recently seen a steep correction from its peak, but that is explained as a phenomenon that appeared amid broader weakness across the cryptocurrency market.

Looking only at price action, XRP’s drop is clearly large. XRP is currently trading around $1.5, down about 56 percent from its all-time high of $3.60 set in July 2025.

Major cryptocurrencies have also seen similar corrections. Bitcoin is down about 50 percent from its all-time high, while Ethereum is down about 66 percent and Solana about 77 percent, according to the tally.

In the industry, some note that South Korea’s high share of XRP trading is not new. South Korea has long been considered among the countries with active XRP trading, and on Upbit, XRP volume has repeatedly exceeded that of bitcoin or ethereum. That makes it difficult to conclude that the recent popularity of XRP was suddenly formed by a specific promotional campaign, according to the analysis.

Positive market outlooks or investment views surrounding XRP have been raised for a long time among various investors and analysts. But there has also been no evidence confirmed so far that Ripple systematically intervened in the process of shaping such views.

Ultimately, the core of the controversy lies in the gap between claims about South Korean investors’ losses and XRP’s popularity, and the actual evidence, according to an assessment.

Some in the market say whether Ryker presents specific material or evidence in the additional revelations he has foreshadowed will determine the direction of the controversy.

Several South Korean celebrities received money from the $XRP team and promoted the project when the price was $2-$3. On the Upbit exchange, the trading volume of Ripple even exceeded that of Binance at times, proving that South Koreans suffered significant losses from buying… pic.twitter.com/7ngWNiDMbi