The Ripple price (XRP/USD) has continued its advance on Wednesday, rising to near all-time highs in the afternoon session.

According to data from cryptocurrency tracker Coinmarketcap, the second-most valuable cryptocurrency on the market has gained more than 16% in the past 24 hours amid strong trading, especially on South Korean exchanges. The Ripple price average is currently standing just below the cryptocurrency’s December 30 all-time record of $2.85.

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The price has surged to $3.18 on Bithumb, South Korea’s leading cryptocurrency platform, which accounts for roughly 36% of the coin’s $4.4-billion 24-hour trading volume. Bithumb’s closest local rivals, Coinone and Korbit, have seen similar price increases. The two platforms capture 6.2% and 4.1% of the global market activity, respectively

The surging investor interest from South Korea was largely responsible for Ripple’s record-breaking run in the final days of last year. Its trading volume soared to over $8 billion on December 30, with the surge largely driven by South Korean exchanges.

The Ripple price rally has been helped by last week’s news that Tokyo-based financial services company SBI Holdings and its subsidiary SBI Ripple Asia have established a “consortium” with a number of Japanese credit card companies to utilise distributed ledger technology.

In today’s trading, the Ripple price stood at $2.84, as of 14:29 GMT. The digital coin has gained just over 17% in the past 24 hours. Its total market capitalisation currently stands at nearly $111 billion, which makes Ripple the second-largest cryptocurrency on the market.

For further information on how to buy and trade Ripple, see our comprehensive Ripple guide.