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:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

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.

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.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

REPORT_Template.png

Research

The Sonic blockchain is leveraging redesigned airdrop incentives and its FeeM program to propel DeFi activity and attract institutional capital, setting the stage for ecosystem growth. Within this environment, leading protocols Shadow Exchange and Silo are poised to asymmetrically benefit due to innovative features and favorable valuations, despite facing ecosystem dependency and competitive pressures. This positions them as compelling, potentially shorter-term, investment opportunities contingent on Sonic's sustained success.

article-image

A group of Twitch streamers battle for bitcoin. Will their chats help them?

article-image

Tokens still suffer from a lack of transparency

article-image

Sponsored

The blockchain creates a fair environment where AI agents and users can access deep liquidity without MEV or other forms of value extraction

article-image

After upping its offer multiple times, Circle is finally trading on the NYSE

article-image

Circle goes public on the NYSE Thursday — here’s what to expect