Japan classifies XRP as financial instrument; Rakuten lists XRP to 44M users

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Japan classifies XRP as a financial instrument, says a crypto pundit. A leading analyst still sees a path to $9–$13.

Crypto commentator UnknowDLT said Japan reclassified crypto assets as financial instruments, putting XRP on par with stocks and bonds. He cited official clarity reported by Bitcoinist and shared an X post; see the Bitcoinist coverage of this claim here and here.

Japan remains a Ripple stronghold. The “XRP Update” account recalled the SBI partnership that launched On‑Demand Liquidity using XRP as a bridge asset for real‑time cross‑border payments, with no pre‑funding; see the X post and Bitcoinist’s ODL context report.

Adoption is widening. SBI and Tobu Top Tours are issuing prepaid payment tokens on the XRP Ledger, tied to a 30 trillion yen market, according to Xaif’s post and a Bitcoinist ledger activity update.

Rakuten Wallet listed XRP for 44 million users. Users can convert loyalty points to XRP and spend across up to 5 million merchants, per Bitcoinist’s Rakuten coverage.

Analyst Egrag Crypto says the $9–$13 target remains valid. He frames the recent breakdown from a descending triangle as a liquidity sweep within a macro uptrend, pointing to a “Bifrost Bridge” channel; see his analysis and related Bitcoinist context on patterns here and the macro channel here.

XRP chart by Egrag Crypto