Japan’s e-commerce giant Rakuten is adding XRP to its Rakuten Pay app, allowing its 44 million users to use Ripple’s cryptocurrency as a payment method with more than 5 million merchant locations across the country.
In an announcement via X on Tuesday, Tatsuya Kohrogi, Ripple’s senior ecosystem growth manager, said that Rakuten is also enabling its users to spot trade XRP through the app. He said they will also be able to buy XRP with Rakuten points and hold it in their Rakuten wallet.
The move ties XRP into one of Japan’s largest loyalty systems, where more than 3 trillion points — worth about $23 billion — are in circulation and can now be converted to XRP, Kohrogi said.
“Starting April 15, Rakuten Wallet will launch XRP as both a listed asset and a payment method, meaning users can purchase XRP directly with Rakuten Points and charge their Rakuten Cash with XRP to spend at over 5 million merchant locations across Japan,” Kohrogi said, calling the development “one of the most significant XRP milestones.”
The Ripple executive also said that Rakuten is one of Japan’s most trusted consumer brands. “The fact that XRP is now embedded in its loyalty and payment infrastructure is a strong signal of where digital assets are headed,” he added.
Rakuten began allowing users to spend bitcoin, ether and bitcoin cash in 2023. In 2021, the Japanese e-commerce giant announced the launch of its own Rakuten Coin, a token it said would be used as part of its points-based loyalty rewards system.
