XRP Continues Huge Institutional Expansion In Japan With Rakuten

• Rakuten Wallet has added XRP to its list of supported cryptocurrencies.
• Starting April 15, its users can trade the token, use it for payments at partner merchants, or convert Rakuten Points into it.

Japan, one of the world’s largest economies, is reestablishing its position as a top crypto marketplace. Past the Mt. Gox scandal that nearly halted Bitcoin’s (BTC) adoption in 2014, it’s now maturing into a more sophisticated, regulated digital asset hub.

XRP is emerging as the top choice of institutions within the jurisdiction. It’s not because of its speculative value, but due to its practical application in bridging traditional finance (TradFi) and on-chain finance.

Rakuten, an institution that runs the country’s largest e-commerce platform, has recently integrated XRP into its payment infrastructure. The $11.34 billion company’s move marks a massive turning point for the asset’s retail utility in Japan.

Rakuten’s Big Move on XRP

On Wednesday, Rakuten Wallet users can already start trading and choosing XRP as a payment option alongside its other supported currencies. It also allows users to convert their Rakuten Points into XRP, which they can tap to make payments at the company’s partner merchants.

XRP joins the other new digital assets supported by Rakuten Wallet, including Stellar (XLM), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Toncoin (TON).

To date, Rakuten has more than 70 businesses and 2 billion members in 30 countries. These span across the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific regions. Meanwhile, its customers number over 44 million.

The Japanese market alone accounts for over 100 million of the platform’s members. Additionally, Rakuten Ichiba has captured 27% of the country’s online shopping market with nearly 6 trillion yen ($38 billion) in domestic gross merchandise sales since 2024.

Why This Matters

Analysts see Rakuten’s integration as a huge stamp of approval for XRP, not for its speculative value but for its real utility in the payments sector. Its consumer-centric approach complements SBI Holding’s efforts to cement the asset as a pillar of institutional liquidity in Japan.

Moreover, the institutional milestone signifies Japan’s transition beyond the experimental phase of blockchain into deep structural adoption. As the world’s fourth-largest economy by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the second-largest in Asia in the same category, the endorsement serves as a global signal of high-stakes financial modernization—a revolution that builds its foundation on XRP’s ecosystem.

Furthermore, it’s worth noting that Japan’s progressive stance on crypto has landed it at 19th place in Chainalysis’ 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index Top 20, underscoring its vital role in the digital asset space.

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