Crypto-friendly Japanese retailer Rakuten is now enabling users of Rakuten Wallet, its crypto exchange subsidiary, to easily spend their cryptocurrency holdings in everyday transactions. According to an announcement published last Wednesday, users are now able to load up their Rakuten Pay accounts seamlessly with their wallet holdings of Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Ether (ETH). Rakuten Pay is a mobile payment app that is operational nationwide and supported at a wide range of large- and medium-scale retailers. Back in 2019, Rakuten had already enabled consumers to convert their Rakuten Group loyalty points to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Now, a deeper …

The trustee of hacked, now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox has posted another update on the long-running process of refunding the exchange clients. Nobuaki Kobayashi, a Tokyo attorney appointed to act as civil rehabilitation trustee to manage Mt. Gox’s bankruptcy estate funds, announced Thursday that the Tokyo District Court ordered that “There were no grounds for disapproving the draft rehabilitation plan.” As previously reported, the plan was filed on Dec. 15, 2020. According to the announcement, the court has approved a repayment process schedule that includes a vote by creditors on the proposed refund plan. As part of the process, the …

Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX has created a new specialized futures contract for traders to bet on the likelihood of the Olympic Games occurring in Tokyo in 2021. The coronavirus pandemic continues to cast a shadow over the safety of hosting the event this year, particularly after a renewed outbreak of the virus in Tokyo last month. For each such uncertainty, as FTX noted in its tweet promoting the new contract, there can be a lucrative market. The new futures contract on FTX Token (FTT) has, according to the exchange, a different risk profile than Bitcoin (BTC). That is, "It has …

Data published by statistics firm Statista has revealed Nigeria is the leading country per capita for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency adoption, with nearly one in three survey respondents indicating they used or owned crypto assets in 2020. According to the survey, the pre-existing prevalence of mobile phone based peer-to-peer payments has led many Nigerians to explore cryptocurrency. Statista noted that many Nigeria responded they had recently installed crypto payment applications on their devices. The findings also note that many Nigerians are exploring crypto assets for international remittances. Adoption in the country shows no signs of slowing, with demand for crypto assets …

Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings is reportedly planning to set up a joint cryptocurrency venture with foreign financial companies. SBI CEO Yoshitaka Kitao said that the Japanese company is in talks with other financial firms to launch a crypto venture, Reuters reported Monda. The executive said that SBI currently has two potential deals. As part of the initiative, SBI is considering large-scale mergers and acquisitions. Kitao stated that such a deal would be necessary for SBI to maintain its position as a leading financial services company: “To become number one in the world, our choice is buying a leading company …

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Liquid has temporarily disabled Ether (ETH) withdrawals as the altcoin hits new all-time highs. According to a Feb. 4 announcement, Liquid has halted withdrawals for ETH and some ERC-20 tokens due to a massive spike in transaction costs, or gas fees. “Service will be resumed once gas fees return to normal levels. All other crypto currencies are operating as per normal,” Liquid said. On Feb. 4, ETH price posted another high of above $1,600, following propelled growth of nearly 20% over the past seven days. The growing price has been steadily driving transaction costs higher, hitting new …

Japanese financial services firm SBI Group has enabled XRP lending through its cryptocurrency-related subsidiary, SBI VC Trade. According to a Feb. 4 announcement, SBI VC Trade Lending users can now earn interest by depositing their XRP holdings between 1,000 and 100,000 XRP, with the lending period lasting up to 84 days. “VC Trade Lending is a service that allows customers to rent out their crypto assets to the company and receive interest rewards according to the quantity and duration of the crypto assets,” SBI stated. The annual interest rate for lending XRP amounts to 0.1% with taxes included, the announcement …

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck has partnered with major global fan token makers, Chiliz and Socios, Cointelegraph Japan reports. As part of the new partnership, Coincheck will list Chiliz and Socios’ non-fungible tokens, or NFT, on Coincheck's NFT marketplace, the company announced Monday. As part of the initiative, Chiliz and Socios will be rewarding fan token holders with NFTs. Coincheck originally announced that it was considering launching an NFT platform in August 2020. According to the latest announcement, Coincheck’s platform has already listed several NFTs for five popular games and gained exposure to over 2.2 million users. Coincheck’s executive director Kensuke …

Japanese finance group SBI Holdings is building a digital stock exchange in collaboration with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, or SMFG. According to a Nikkei report Thursday, the new digital securities exchange is expected to be the first Japanese exchange trading digital stocks using blockchain technology. The companies are reportedly planning to roll out the exchange in Osaka in spring 2020, while the platform is expected to start handling digital securities in 2023. In order to launch the exchange, SBI and SMFG will set up an operator, Osaka Digital Exchange, or ODX. SBI will have a 60% stake in ODX, while …

According to research by Messari, the top three online brokerage firms in Japan are experiencing surging revenue from their cryptocurrency exchange services. In its Asian Crypto Landscape report, Messari noted the operating revenue and net worth of exchange platforms operated by Japan’s top securities brokers is quickly catching up to that of their crypto-native rivals. Messari researcher Mira Christanto tweeted that Japan’s three-largest brokers by customer deposits — SBI, Rakuten, and Monex — all operate crypto exchange platforms. Christanto also noted that many large asset managers are lobbying Japanese lawmakers to allow them to offer expanded cryptocurrency services and products, …

Authorities in Japan are reportedly targeting individuals for their alleged involvement in the January 2018 hack of the Coincheck crypto exchange. According to a Jan. 22 report from Japanese news outlet Nikkei Asia, police have arrested or referred roughly 30 people in Japan to the local prosecutors’ office for their alleged role in hacking one of the country’s cryptocurrency exchanges. In January 2018, hackers stole roughly $534 million worth of NEM (XEM) from Coincheck in what was — and still is — the largest hack of a crypto exchange. Nikkei Asia claims that according to an unnamed source, investigators "traced …

Mitsubishi Electric has teamed up with researchers from the prestigious Japanese university, Tokyo Tech, to jointly design a blockchain-based trading system that can support more flexible, peer-to-peer energy trading. Announced on Jan. 18, the new system is intended to support the efficient use of surplus electricity that is generated from renewable energy sources. In particular, it is hoped that the trading system can ensure that at any given moment, there will be the maximum available amount of surplus electricity accessible on the market for consumers. Peer-to-peer energy trading set-ups allow consumers and prosumers to engage in direct trading as buyers …