Japanese Online Retail Giant Rakuten Launches NFT Marketplace

Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten is stepping into the non-fungible token (NFT) space by launching an NFT marketplace platform in the spring of 2022.

This marketplace will be named Rakuten NFT. Through the platform, users are allowed to buy and sell a variety of digital content like sports and entertainment, including music and anime.

Rakuten NFT will allow intellectual property (IP) holders to issue NFTs and create their sales websites. The retail giant also highlighted that its platform will be user-friendly. For instance, IP holders are not required to have any blockchain technology knowledge to issue the NFT.

Additionally, the Rakuten NFT platform is connected to other Rakuten services. Users will be able to obtain NFTs as prizes or as gifts when purchasing other products or after meeting certain criteria. Moreover, the firm has plans to let NFT traders earn and redeem Rakuten points while using the upcoming NFT platform.

Rakuten said:

By democratizing the NFT market, Rakuten endeavors to empower a wide range of users to feel the value of owning their own NFT.

However, Rakuten is not the first Japanese mainstream giant to join the NFTs business. Earlier in June, GMO Financial Holdings started a joint venture with Samurai Partners, a big name in local manga illustrations, to launch an NFT marketplace.

Meanwhile, Rakuten was among the early adopters of blockchain. Additionally, the group has been operating a spot crypto trading exchange since August 2019. Aside from its venture into NFTs, Rakuten is mostly known for its e-commerce, payments, brokerage, and other mainstream services.