Cryptocurrency adoption in Japan has seen a significant advancement as Rakuten Wallet has officially launched XRP spot trading and real-world payment functionalities. Beginning today, users of Rakuten Wallet can now convert their loyalty points into XRP, allowing them to trade the asset within the app or use it for transactions across over 5 million merchant locations nationwide.
Ripple’s development arm, RippleX, highlighted that this integration is one of the largest retail deployments of XRP to date. With 44 million active Rakuten Pay users, XRP is poised to reach a vast consumer base. The Rakuten ecosystem features an impressive 3 trillion loyalty points in circulation, amounting to approximately $23 billion in points that are now redeemable for XRP.
In the United States, cryptocurrency regulation is advancing as lawmakers work towards establishing a more structured approach. A breakthrough has been made concerning stablecoin yield rules within the proposed CLARITY Act. Recent reports indicate that Senate negotiators have reached an agreement on several contentious issues that have previously hindered progress. This compromise serves to align policymakers with industry concerns, aiming to close loopholes and pave the way for more comprehensive regulation of digital assets.
Amid these regulatory developments, Shiba Inu has recorded noteworthy performance in the cryptocurrency market. The asset extended its positive momentum from March into April, achieving its highest monthly return recorded so far in 2026. Shiba Inu ended April with a gain of 4.74%, showcasing a strong recovery after enduring a lengthy streak of declines since August 2023. The positive trajectory followed a 2.72% increase in March, signaling a shift in market sentiment for the meme token.
