Rakuten, which is one of the biggest Internet companies, has announced its very own cryptocurrency during the recently ended Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The company’s CEO Hiroshi Mikitani unveiled the initiative saying it will be used as part of Rakuten’s points-based loyalty rewards system, which has awarded more than $9 billion worth of points since debuting in 2003, according to TechCrunch. In addition, the Rakuten Coin should also help the company expand its international customer base.
The exact date of launch is unclear though, but from what we are gathering — once it’s out, Rakuten’s cryptocurrency will work across the company’s wide network of products and services. These include a global marketplace, a travel company, an on-demand video service and mobile messaging service Viber, among others.
Rakuten hopes that its own token will help it attract more international customers who will be able to benefit from this “borderless” payment method that effectively mitigates exchange rate fees.
Rakuten is familiar with crypto
The Japanese company has been associated with cryptocurrencies since 2015, which is an eternity in “this world.” At that time, Rakuten started accepting Bitcoin through payment processor Bitnet. Subsequently, it invested in Bitnet and then acqui-hired the company to create a Belfast-based blockchain lab.
With its own cryptocurrency, it could start a new, bold chapter in its evolution, and eventually show other giants what “your own money could do for you.”
That being said, we are sure Rakuten’s global competitors will be paying a close attention to this initiative, and (re)act accordingly. Particularly, we’ll be watching for Amazon and Facebook, as well as China-based giants Alibaba and Tencent — all of which could benefit a lot from their own cryptocurrency. More to come, obviously.