Rakuten Wallet Bets on XRP to Solve Crypto's Speed Problem

Rakuten Wallet has added XRP spot trading to its platform, but this move is not just about making it easier for users to buy and sell cryptocurrency. According to senior analyst Yasuo Matsuda, the addition of XRP was made in an effort to solve one of the long-standing problems facing the adoption of cryptocurrencies: speed.

Matsuda argues that stablecoins have already addressed the issue of price volatility, leaving transaction processing speed as the remaining hurdle for widespread adoption. He believes that XRP's architecture makes it uniquely suited to addressing this problem, allowing for faster and more efficient transactions than other cryptocurrencies.

While the retail-facing changes are the most visible part of this launch, Matsuda suggests that the real driver behind the addition of XRP is its potential use in corporate treasury operations. He points to intercompany settlements, cross-border transfers tied to employee expenses, and B2B payments routed through Japanese accounts as underserved needs that crypto settlement rails could open up.

Matsuda's case for XRP over other settlement-focused assets rests partly on liquidity, citing its position as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization as evidence of sufficient depth for remittance and settlement flows.