E-commerce giant Rakuten, considered the “Amazon of Japan”, will launch its own marketplace dedicated to non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Currently, the company has over 125 million customers worldwide.
Rakuten launches its NFT marketplace
Rakuten, the large Japanese e-commerce company, announced that it has launched its own non-fungible token marketplace (NFTs).
The new Rakuten marketplace allows users to easily purchase and collect NFTs in the areas of sports and entertainment, such as music and cartoons.
In addition, the NFT marketplace will also host a platform that will allow intellectual property (IP) owners in Japan to create their own solutions to easily issue and sell NFTs. This service will be launched in 2023 or later.
Rakuten’s first sale of NFTs took place on February 25 and included NFTs in reference to the science fiction TV series Ultraman. Later, the group planned to produce NFTs based on the famous shows of Japanese TV channel TV Asahi Corporation.
Japan at the center of adoption
Interest in NFTs seems to be growing in Japan. In March 2021, local exchange Coincheck also launched a marketplace dedicated to NFTs. In July, Mai Fujimoto, better known as “Miss Bitcoin,” partnered with the Enjin Project (ENJ) to create an NFT charity program in Japan.
With a population of more than 126 million and a passion for pop culture, observers believe the Japanese could boost the adoption of cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
Rakuten is obviously at the center of this adoption, with the e-commerce group recently allowing cryptocurrency holders to use Rakuten Pay, its payment service. As a result, Rakuten Pay users can fund their accounts with Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin cash (BCH) and allows them to pay for purchases at a wide range of businesses.
