Rakuten Wallet Bets Big on XRP's Speed Solution for Crypto Settlement

Rakuten Wallet has added XRP spot trading to its platform, but this move is not just about retail users. According to senior analyst Yasuo Matsuda, it's part of a larger strategy to solve two long-standing problems in crypto: speed and volatility.

Matsuda argues that solving these issues separately won't make real-world settlement viable, but combining them will. Stablecoins have addressed the volatility problem, while XRP was built specifically to tackle the speed issue.

The strategy is primarily focused on corporate treasury operations, where companies need to settle recurring operational costs such as intercompany transfers and cross-border payments. Matsuda sees this as a larger addressable opportunity than retail transactions.

Liquidity is another key factor in Rakuten's decision to support XRP, with Matsuda citing its position as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization as evidence of sufficient depth for remittance and settlement flows.