Rakuten Inc., a Japanese e-commerce powerhouse, launched Rakuten NFT today, a marketplace for customers to purchase NFTs
Following the global rise in popularity of NFTs, the firm first stated its intention to implement the platform in 2021.
On the marketplace, users will be able to purchase and sell NFTs from a range of sectors, including sports, entertainment, music, and animation. Users can add their purchases of NFT artworks and videos to collections and exhibit them on their websites.
Users will be able to use their Rakuten ID to make purchases on the marketplace, earning and spending Rakuten Points, which the company describes as a kind of loyalty money.
Additionally, Rakuten said that the market would have its own “one-stop platform” that will enable intellectual property owners to construct websites for issuing and selling their own branded NFTs.
The marketplace will launch with a large range of anime-related NFTs, including those from the animated series “Ultraman” and the manga “Korogane Hiroshi G1 Gekitoshi.” In the future, the marketplace plans to produce NFTs with rare material from important TV Asahi Corporation programs, as well as NFT trading cards featuring Daiki Sound Co. Ltd.’s rock idol group Under Beasty.
Rakuten is well-known for experimenting with and working on blockchain technology. When it linked its infrastructure with Bitnet’s in 2015, the company was an early adopter of Bitcoin payments. The business also trialed Rakuten Coin, a cryptocurrency based on Rakuten Points, and marketed as a “borderless money.” In 2019, the firm launched its cryptocurrency exchange under the Rakuten Wallet Inc. subsidiary.
The NFT market surpassed all projections in 2021, reaching $41 billion in transaction volume, up from $100 million in 2020. Rakuten thinks that Japan’s entertainment industry, which is centered on anime and music, will be the next adoption hotspot.
