Japan: Rakuten Bank Starts Registering New Users for Its Crypto Wallet
As part of preparations for the June 2019 official launch of its cryptocurrency trading service, Rakuten Bank, the largest e-commerce outfit in Japan has kicked off the new user registration process for its Rakuten Wallet, which will enable millions of its customers to trade bitcoin and altcoins seamlessly, according to a press release published March 15, 2019.
Rakuten Merges E-Commerce and Crypto
As stated in its press release, Rakuten Wallet Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Japanese e-commerce giant, Rakuten Group, has started accepting applications from prospective users of its cryptocurrency platform which is set to go live later in June this year.
According to the team, existing clients of Rakuten Bank who had previously submitted the necessary banking details to the firm, are not required to go through the process for the second time. Rather, they will just carry out a simple information update via Rakuten’s web app.
In a bid to give users the best experience possible, Rakuten claims it has implemented artificial intelligence (AI) powered customer care service that would run on a 24/7 basis, responding to all customer inquiries in real-time, all through the year.
The firm has also hinted that it plans to develop a smartphone app that would make it easier for clients to trade crypto-assets, deposit and withdraw funds on the go, from anywhere across the globe.
The firm stated:
“We plan to launch a smartphone app to enable users to deposit and withdraw funds from their cryptoassets trading accounts and trade virtual currencies regardless of their geographic location.”
Adding,
“Rakuten Wallet is a cryptocurrency exchange company of the Rakuten Group, and we will continue to enhance our services to serve our clients better.”
A Long Time Coming
It’s worth noting that the Rakuten Group has always been in love with all things cryptos and distributed ledger technology (DLT.)
In August 2016, BTCManager informed that Rakuten had acquired Bitnet, a bitcoin payments firm, as part of its broader plan to establish a blockchain technology laboratory.
With a significant presence in 29 countries and regions, Rakuten unveiled its $9 billion blockchain-powered loyalty program in March 2018, to enable clients of the firm to reap the dividends of the revolutionary technology through its native digital token called Rakuten Coin.
Rakuten reached another significant milestone in its crypto journey in August 2018, when it announced the acquisition of Japanese crypto exchange, Everybody’s Bitcoin, which it has now expertly forged into a formidable crypto exchange set to go live shortly.
