Japan’s biggest loyalty program may have just become one of crypto’s most unexpected entry points. Related Reading: Bitcoin Could Hit $85K Before April Ends, Analyst Says A Rewards System Worth $23 Billion Opens Up Rakuten is sitting on more than 3 trillion loyalty points — valued at roughly $23 billion — and users can now convert those points into XRP. That single detail changes the nature of this integration. It is not just another tech company adding a crypto option. 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. The announcement pushed XRP to $1.38, with the token’s market cap climbing above $84 billion. Trading volume came in at $2.4 billion over the past 24 hours, though that figure was down 25% from the prior period. 🚨IT’S OFFICIAL: XRP is LIVE for 44 million users on one of the largest wallets in Japan, Rakuten Wallet. Enabling users purchasing anything by using #XRP! pic.twitter.com/pOd9CNXpTe — JackTheRippler ©️ (@RippleXrpie) April 15, 2026 44 Million Users, 5 Million Merchant Locations The scale of Rakuten’s network is what makes this stand out. Around 44 million users will be able to hold XRP in the Rakuten Wallet, buy it with loyalty points, and fund Rakuten Cash to spend in physical stores and online. 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. Ripple’s senior ecosystem growth manager Tatsuya Kohrogi called this one of the most significant milestones for XRP, pointing out that Rakuten Pay is a mainstream commerce app, not a product built for crypto users. That means XRP is being placed in front of tens of millions of people who may have never bought or held digital currency before. Related Reading: ‘Extremely Good News’ – XRP DeFi Momentum Builds As SEC Softens Position On Interfaces Whether Everyday Shoppers Follow Matters Most 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. Based on reports, analysts see the potential as real but conditional. The bigger question is not whether Rakuten has the infrastructure — it clearly does. The question is whether ordinary shoppers choose XRP when it is time to pay, or stick to yen and existing payment methods they already trust. 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
