Rakuten Converts Points to XRP: Japan Bets on a Riverboat

by

XRP Comes Roaring into Japan’s Shops

Well, sit down and mind your manners, folks, for Rakuten-a mighty big frog in Japan’s commerce pond-has decided to hitch its wagon to a sparkly new thing called XRP and drag it right into the everyday buying-and-paying business like a riverboat into a tidy little town docked at high tide.

Rakuten Wallet now lets folks swap Rakuten Points for XRP, trade it in-app, and spend the coin across Rakuten Pay at more than five million merchant places, a number that could make a grant writer blush. The loyalty army behind it ain’t nothing to sneeze at: 44 million Rakuten Pay users and over three trillion points worth about $23 billion, all primed to be spent-or burned, if you prefer a sparkler with a little more heat.

RippleX confirmed the rollout on X, declaring, “Rakuten Wallet users in Japan can convert Rakuten Points into XRP, spot trade in-app, and spend across 5M+ merchant locations.” The message reads like a bold frontier notice, and it taps into the vast spread of Rakuten’s business empire like a prospectus printed on the back of a country newspaper.

Starting today, @Rakuten_Wallet users in Japan can convert @Rakuten Points into XRP, spot trade in-app, and spend across 5M+ merchant locations. 🇯🇵

With 44 million Rakuten Pay users and $23B in loyalty points now redeemable for XRP, this is one of the largest retail deployments…

XRP Enters Japan’s Retail Economy

Rakuten, one of Japan’s colossal digital ecosystems-spanning e-commerce, banking, and telecommunications-has decided to broaden its crypto offerings through its loyalty and payments network, as if peddling a fresh coat of paint to a sunburned town square.

The rewards system, boasting more than three trillion points valued at roughly $23 billion, will let folks turn those points into XRP and use the token within Rakuten’s own payments web. The company handles trillions of yen in annual online commerce-enough to make a man pinch his wallet and wonder if it’s real money or a mirage of a tourist’s imagination.

Tatsuya Kohrogi, Ripple’s Senior Ecosystem Growth Manager, offered thusly, “Rakuten Pay isn’t a crypto-native app-it’s Japan’s everyday commerce platform. This puts XRP in front of folks who never so much as considered crypto before.”

– Tats (@tatsuya_kohrogi) April 13, 2026

Market Impact and the Road Ahead

Santiment data show social sentiment for XRP in Japan jumped to its second-highest level in two years after the integration, though the price action hasn’t exactly broken out the window glass yet. Analysts say the real engine lies in sustained adoption, not the fickle gusts of short-term sentiment.

The timing of Rakuten’s move is hardly by accident. The Japanese government is considering changes to the crypto tax framework, weighing proposals that could trim capital gains rates on digital assets from 55% down to 20%. In short, the taxman may soon tighten his belt enough to stop poking the bear and start tickling its ribs a bit.

Meanwhile, Ripple is steadily broadening its influence in Japan through partnerships already planted in the land. Since 2016, the SBI Group has been aiding XRP-based ventures like cross-border transfers. Ripple also plans to launch their RLUSD coin via platforms in the country.

As of this writing, XRP was trading around $1.36, registering a modest 3.34% uptick over the past month, according to CoinMarketCap data. A gentle rise, perhaps, but on certain days a rising tide can lift a fellow’s hat just as well as his boat.

Read More

2026-04-30 09:57