As the world anticipates the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF, exciting news emerges from Japan. Mercari, one of Japan’s largest e-commerce platforms, has announced it will start accepting Bitcoin payments by June 2024. The company will process Bitcoin payments through its Tokyo-based crypto subsidiary, Melcoin, which will convert BTC to yen, allowing customers to pay in Bitcoin while sellers receive fiat currency.
Items listed for sale in yen will not display Bitcoin prices, but customers can choose Bitcoin as a payment method at checkout. Since its establishment in 2013, Mercari has grown to become Japan’s leading community marketplace platform.
As of July 2023, Mercari reported having 22 million monthly users and is expanding its reach beyond Japan, including into Europe. The company has recently introduced several products and applications, including the Mercari Bitcoin crypto trading service, exciting crypto investors.
This service allows users to buy and sell Bitcoin with their platform sales revenue. It also features a loyalty point system connected to Mercari’s crypto trading arm, enabling users to earn Bitcoin with their points. The Mercari Bitcoin trading service surpassed one million users in October.
Crypto enthusiasts see Mercari’s service as a new “gateway” for Bitcoin investors, similar to the Rakuten platform, which has been in the crypto space longer than Mercari. Rakuten Wallet, Rakuten’s crypto trading service, previously integrated a loyalty point system allowing users to exchange points for cryptocurrencies. A recent survey revealed that a significant portion of Japanese who started trading crypto in late 2022 used Mercari’s Bitcoin Trading app or Rakuten Wallet.