XRP Jumps As Japan’s Rakuten Pay Integration Boosts Real-World Use

Japan’s biggest loyalty program may have just become one of crypto’s most unexpected entry points.

It is an existing, widely used rewards system being turned into a direct path into digital currency, no exchange account required. Reports confirmed the points-to-XRP conversion feature is part of the rollout inside the Rakuten Pay app and Rakuten Wallet.

IT’S OFFICIAL:

XRP is LIVE for 44 million users on one of the largest wallets in Japan, Rakuten Wallet.

That covers more than 5 million merchant locations across Japan. Users can also spot trade XRP directly inside the app.

Rakuten had already added Bitcoin, Ether, and Bitcoin Cash in earlier phases. XRP now joins that group inside one of Japan’s largest consumer platforms — one that most of its users visit for shopping, not for investing.

That means XRP is being placed in front of tens of millions of people who may have never bought or held digital currency before.

XRP has long been associated with institutional cross-border payments. A move into retail point-of-sale spending in Japan marks a clear shift in how the token is showing up in real-world use.

If even a fraction of that $23 billion in loyalty points finds its way into XRP and circulates through everyday commerce, it could push other large consumer platforms to take a closer look at similar moves.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView