Rakuten Wallet Adds XRP Trading and Payments in Japan, Opening Access to 5M+ Merchants

Rakuten Wallet has rolled out XRP spot trading and payment functionality in Japan, marking a significant step for crypto adoption in the country, CoinDesk reported. From today, Japanese users can exchange Rakuten Points for XRP, trade the token inside the app, or spend it at more than 5 million merchant locations nationwide. Ripple's development unit RippleX said the tie-up is among the largest retail deployments of XRP to date. The integration also connects XRP to Rakuten Pay's 44 million active users. Rakuten's ecosystem circulates over 3 trillion points—valued at up to $23 billion—and those points can now be redeemed for XRP. Users can convert points to an e-wallet balance and pay in stores using QR codes. After a previously delayed listing, XRP is now live on the platform. Rakuten Wallet is also running a launch promotion: users who buy XRP worth 30,000 JPY or more will receive an XRP bonus worth 500 JPY, while purchases of 100,000 JPY or more will receive an XRP bonus worth 1,500 JPY. The feature is currently available on mobile via an Android Early Access release. Rakuten Wallet said an iOS update is planned and will be announced soon.