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Japan’s E-commerce Titan Mercari Launches XRP Trading

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Company says that 90% of the users of its Mercoin trading app are first-time crypto buyers

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper

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Tim Alper is a British journalist and features writer who has worked at Cryptonews.com since 2018. He has written for media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, and Chosun Ilbo. He has also worked...

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April 24, 2025

Japan’s E-commerce Titan Mercari Launches XRP Trading

Mercari, one of Japan’s biggest e-commerce players, has launched XRP trading functions on its Mercoin crypto exchange app.

In a Mercari press release, the firm explained that customers can use their Mercari (Merpay) account balances or Mercari points to buy the altcoin, as well as direct bank transfer services.

Mercari: XRP Move

The development comes just under a year after the firm added Ethereum (ETH) trading functions to its crypto app.

A graph showing Mercari share prices (in JPY) since the start of 2025 on the Tokyo Exchange. — Mercari share prices (in JPY) since the start of 2025 on the Tokyo Exchange. (Source: Google Finance)

Mercoin launched its Bitcoin (BTC) trading service in March 2023.

In December last year, the firm claimed that over 3 million people were now using its crypto trading services.

It also said that it had recorded the highest number of new crypto wallet openings in the domestic crypto exchange industry.

The company said that it had added XRP to its platform on April 24, and said that customers could open a wallet with a minimum deposit of 1 yen ($0.007).

Mercari added that about 90% of Mercoin users say that they are first-time crypto investors.

The firm also teased forthcoming XRP-themed events. In the press release, the company wrote:

“In the future, we plan to consider a range of XRP-related events and campaigns. We will work to make XRP a more familiar cryptocurrency in Japan.”

A graph showing XRP prices over the past four weeks. — XRP prices over the past four weeks. (Source: CoinMarketCap)

Mercoin: Incentives and Events Planned

In July last year, Mercoin launched an “invitation campaign” to promote its Bitcoin trading services.

The company ran the campaign for four weeks, when it attempted to incentivize Mercari users to invite their friends and relatives to the platform.

The company handed both the inviters and recipients 200 yen worth of Bitcoin for each person they invited, with “no limit” placed on the number of people they could invite.

In March, the Japanese gaming developer Gumi announced plans to hold a $106,000 Bitcoin giveaway for its newest shareholders.

Japan's Mercari enters mobile telecom business https://t.co/k5VcMza9Jy
— Nikkei Asia (@NikkeiAsia) March 4, 2025

The gaming company is part of a growing cohort of Japanese, stock market-listed firms that have used their balance sheets to buy BTC and altcoins this year.

Mercari claims to have over 23 million monthly users in Japan. Last month, the firm announced plans to enter the mobile telecommunications sector.