Will XRP, with $23 billion in Rakuten points, completely dominate the real-life payment market in Asia?

▲ Ripple (XRP) ©CoinReaders

As Rakuten, a giant Japanese retail conglomerate, decided to convert its $23 billion worth of loyalty points into virtual assets and introduce them for real-life payments, XRP (Ripple) has encountered a massive positive development: entry into the mainstream Asian market.

According to the cryptocurrency media outlet Finbold on April 14 (local time), Tatsuya Korogi, Head of Ecosystem Growth at Ripple Labs, announced that Rakuten Wallet, a regulated platform in Japan, will integrate with the XRP Ledger (XRPL) for payments starting April 15, 2026.

This strategic listing will enable Rakuten Wallet users to seamlessly convert over 3 trillion points, currently valued at approximately $23 billion, into XRP. Furthermore, leveraging Rakuten's extensive user base of over 100 million members, a path has been opened for direct payment using the token via Rakuten Pay at more than 5 million affiliated stores across Japan.

Korogi emphasized that Rakuten is one of Japan's most trusted consumer brands, and XRP being deeply embedded in their loyalty and payment infrastructure is a strong signal for the future direction of digital asset adoption.

This foreshadows an explosive increase in demand for the token across the Asian market. According to recent financial results, Rakuten's e-commerce network processed approximately $40 billion in gross merchandise value for the fiscal year 2025. If XRP accounts for even 1% of annual payment volume, the transaction volume would reach around $400 million, and a natural expansion of demand is expected as it can anticipate potential long-term value appreciation compared to static fiat currencies.

Consequently, XRP's trading volume in the Asian market is expected to surge, significantly boosting its long-term value. The media outlet analyzed that mainstream market adoption will further accelerate as more institutions, led by SBI Ripple Asia, continue to build real-time payment systems utilizing the token and ledger.

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