XRP Now One Tap Away for 20 Million Users in Japan

As became known thanks to CoinPost, popular cryptocurrency XRP is now available for trading on Mercoin, the crypto platform operated by Mercari, Japan’s largest resale marketplace. The listing gives over 20 million monthly active users, according to Emi Yoshikawa, direct access to XRP using existing balances, points or bank transfers — starting from as little as 1 JPY.

Mercoin began offering Bitcoin in March 2023 and added Ethereum in May 2024. In just under two years, the platform reached more than three million users, with roughly 90% being first-time cryptocurrency traders. The addition of XRP makes it the third supported asset and the first tied to an ecosystem already heavily adopted in Japan’s financial sector.

Yes, XRP is well known in Japan and has long had an established presence in the country through SBI Holdings, one of Ripple’s major partners and a financial powerhouse in the region. SBI’s crypto subsidiaries — like SBI VC Trade and SBI Remit — have promoted XRP for use cases ranging from cross-border payments to on-demand liquidity, and even paying for used cars, overall positioning the cryptocurrency as a functional bridge between fiat systems.

Now XRP is available through a mainstream consumer app that Japanese users already interact with for buying and selling physical goods. The entry point is informal, low-risk and integrated into existing user behavior.

This rollout does not introduce new use cases, but it does expand access. That is the real shift XRP is no longer just a tool for financial firms or experienced crypto users — it is a few taps away for anyone out of 20 million with leftover Mercari points or a wallet balance.