Japanese Companies to Test Redemption of Bitcoin and XRP through Credit Card Points

SBI Group is a financial services company in Japan that allows users to purchase BTC, ETH, and XRP using credit card points. Currently, credit card companies are integrating cryptocurrency on a global scale. At present, the scale of this experiment is very small, as it only allows purchases of items worth less than $15 at a time. Nevertheless, SBI's decision may reflect the growing pro-cryptocurrency sentiment among Japanese businesses. It is not new for Japan to place cryptocurrency on credit cards; purchasing cryptocurrency with credit cards has been happening for some time, and several major Web3 companies have recently joined this trend. Coinbase is partnering with Amex to launch a credit card, and Bitget Wallet is doing something similar. However, the Japan-based financial services company SBI Holdings has opened up new territory with its latest credit card rewards: at first glance, this seems like a significant breakthrough. Mastercard recently became a pioneer in the industry by linking credit cards with DEX access, and now Japan is joining this trend. SBI Holdings manages over $214 billion in assets, so its credit card division has the potential to become a real market driver. Unfortunately, this development seems more like a gimmick. SBI users can redeem 2,100 APLUS points for BTC, ETH, or XRP worth 2,000 yen. However, the yen is currently very weak, so these credit card points can only purchase cryptocurrency worth $13.64. It is unclear how easy it is to earn these points, but it may not scale well to actual token acquisition. Furthermore, the company is very sparse on actual details. For example, it is currently unclear how SBI will custody or transfer these assets. Nonetheless, the plan may encourage credit card users across Japan to join the Web3 industry. Additionally, this is an important signal for adopting trends. Japan's faltering economy encourages cryptocurrency investment, and SBI's credit card subsidiary has also joined this trend. Many Japanese companies are heavily investing in cryptocurrency, and this phenomenon may even lead to more favorable cryptocurrency regulations. In other words, even if the scale of the credit card redemption program itself is small, it reflects the cryptocurrency sentiment among Japanese businesses. Such signals may ultimately represent a significant market trend.