CMC News

Rakuten Adds XRP Payments Across 5 Million Japan Stores

Japanese e-commerce company #Rakuten is adding $XRP to its Rakuten Pay app, giving its 44 million users the ability to spend Ripple's cryptocurrency at more than 5 million merchant locations across Japan. The feature goes live on April 15. Users will also be able to spot trade XRP within the app and store it in their Rakuten Wallet.

The integration ties XRP directly into one of Japan's largest consumer #loyalty programs. Rakuten's points system currently has more than 3 trillion points in circulation, valued at roughly $23 billion. Users will be able to convert those points into XRP and then use the token to load their Rakuten Cash balance for everyday purchases.

Tatsuya Kohrogi, Ripple's senior ecosystem growth manager, announced the move on X and described it as one of the most significant #XRP milestones to date. He said Rakuten is one of Japan's most trusted consumer brands, and that embedding XRP into its loyalty and payments infrastructure signals a meaningful shift in how digital assets are being adopted at scale.

Rakuten first introduced cryptocurrency spending for its users in 2023, when it began accepting Bitcoin, Ether, and Bitcoin Cash through the app. In 2021, the company announced plans to launch its own Rakuten Coin, a token intended to function within its points-based rewards system. The addition of XRP expands the platform's crypto offering and brings a third-party token into that loyalty infrastructure for the first time.

The move comes as institutional interest in #Ripple's token continues to grow in the United States. Goldman Sachs recently became the largest disclosed holder of spot XRP exchange-traded fund shares among institutional investors. Several asset managers have filed for or launched spot XRP ETFs as the asset gains regulatory and financial recognition beyond #Japan.