Rakuten launches its own NFT marketplace in Japan

Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc. said today that it’s launching a marketplace where users can purchase nonfungible tokens called Rakuten NFT.

The company first revealed its plans to launch the platform in 2021 following the growing popularity of NFTs worldwide. NFTs are a type of assets represented on blockchains that can track the ownership of digital items such as artwork, music and items in video games.

The marketplace will allow users to purchase buy and sell NFTs from a range of different areas including sports and entertainment, including music and animation. The NFT artwork and videos purchased by users can be added to collections and displayed on buyers’ own web pages.

According to the company, users will be able to use their Rakuten ID when making purchases in the marketplace, allowing them to earn and spend Rakuten Points, which are a type of loyalty currency.

Rakuten also announced that the market features its own “one-stop platform” permitting intellectual property holders to build websites for issuing and selling their own branded NFTs.

At launch, the marketplace will feature a large number of anime-related NFTs including from the “Ultraman” animated series and the horse racing-themed comic “Korogane Hiroshi G1 Gekitoshi.” In the future, the marketplace plans to issue NFTs of rare footage of famous scenes from the TV Asahi Corporation shows and NFT trading cards of rock idol group Under Beasty from Daiki Sound Co. Ltd.

Rakuten is well known for experimenting and building on blockchain technology. The company was an early adopter of Bitcoin payments in 2015 when it integrated with Bitnet’s platform. The company also piloted a program called Rakuten Coin, which is a cryptocurrency based on Rakuten Points, and described as a “borderless currency.” In 2019, the company launched its own cryptocurrency exchange under the company’s Rakuten Wallet Inc. division.

In 2021, the NFT market outpaced all expectations with $41 billion in trade volume, compared to $100 million during 2020. Rakuten is betting on Japan’s entertainment economy, based on Japanese anime and music, to become the next flashpoint for adoption.

Photo: Pixabay