Japan’s E-Commerce Giant Rakuten Launches NFT Marketplace

Rakuten said its NFT marketplace would allow for the purchase, sale and trade of virtual assets based on Japanese manga and TV shows

article-image

Close up of Rakuten sign. Silicon Valley, US. Credit: Shutterstock

share

key takeaways

  • Rakuten has launched its own NFT platform for the sale and trade of virtual assets in a bid to cash in on the crypto sector
  • The company said its platform also features an ability for IP holders to build their own webites supporting the issuance and sale of NFTs

Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten is hoping to capture some of the fervor surrounding NFTs and has launched its own marketplace for users to buy, sell and trade them.

According to a press release on Friday, the company said its Rakuten NFT (non-fungible token) platform is focused on NFTs in areas such as sports and entertainment, including music and anime.

The marketplace also features a “one-stop” platform providing intellectual property (IP) holders with the ability to build their own website for the issuance and sale of NFTs, the company said.

In the coming years, Rakuten said it plans to introduce a peer-to-peer NFT issuance and sale service supporting IP holders worldwide in a bid to “spur further development of a global market” for the digital medium.

NFTs are digital assets tied to blockchains that represent ownership over real-world or virtual goods.

Rakuten’s marketplace debut comes at a time when the trading and selling of NFTs have continued to prove lucrative despite the wider cryptocurrency market suffering significant declines in value.

While daily sales volumes for the virtual assets have dropped from a peak of $422 million witnessed in August, the market was recently estimated to be worth between $20 billion to $40 billion.

Hoping to build on its recent foray into the crypto industry, Rakuten said it would be releasing NFTs containing illustrations from famed manga artists and video footage from TV Asashi as well as digital trading cards.

Last year, the company opened up functionality for its users to pay in crypto at select merchants throughout Japan by enabling payments via Rakuten Pay and Rakuten Point Cards at point-of-sales terminals.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
  • Supply Shock: Tracking Bitcoin’s rise from internet plaything worth less than a penny to global phenomenon disrupting money as we know it.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.jpg

Research

Bluefin possibly stands at an inflection point. The token is near an all-time low yet the protocol’s spot volume market share and derivatives exchange usage have been increasing month over month since its November launch. Given its current market position and the upcoming upgrades (for both Bluefin and SUI), there may be upside potential before the increased supply growth in December. However, strong opposition from existing competitors (like Cetus and Suilend), as well as new entrants (like Aftermath), pose key challenges to Bluefin’s medium-term success.

article-image

Top Committee Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren in her opening statement accused Atkins of “helping billionaire CEOs like Sam Bankman-Fried”

article-image

Introducing garbled circuits for enhanced privacy and regulatory compliance

article-image

Ross Ulbricht was a freedom maximalist building freedom tech, powered by Bitcoin

article-image

Solana validators can reap benefits including payments, votes and community clout

article-image

Sponsored

WalletConnect is cementing itself as the essential connectivity layer, ensuring wallets remain the entry point for billions of users

article-image

According to a legal filing, Galaxy Digital helped boost the price of LUNA while quietly selling its tokens