Japan Breaks New Ground: Credit Card Points Now Convertible to Bitcoin and XRP

Tokyo shakes up loyalty programs by bridging crypto and traditional finance—because what’s better than redeeming points for a toaster? Digital gold, obviously.

The Points Revolution

A Japanese firm is flipping the script on credit card rewards, letting users cash in points for Bitcoin and XRP. No more hoarding miles for flights you’ll never book—now your rewards can moon (or crash) alongside the crypto markets.

Why It Matters

This isn’t just another gimmick. It’s a stealthy onboarding ramp for normies to dabble in crypto without touching an exchange. The kicker? Zero regulatory friction—points are already play money in the eyes of Japan’s FSA.

The Fine Print

Expect limits, spreads, and maybe a ‘convenience’ fee thicker than a Shiba Inu whitepaper. But hey, it beats watching your points decay like a shitcoin in a bear market.

Japan Puts Crypto on Credit Cards

Buying crypto with credit cards is nothing new, and several major Web3 firms have joined the trend recently. Coinbase is partnering with Amex to launch a credit card, and Bitget Wallet is doing something similar.

However, SBI Holdings, a financial services firm based in Japan, is breaking new ground with its latest credit card rewards:

“We… have collaborated to add Bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), and XRP (XRP) handled by our company as exchange prizes for our ‘APLUS Points’ points service. This is the first time that cryptocurrencies have appeared as exchange prizes for APLUS points,” the firm’s subsidiary, SBI VC Trade, claimed in a press release.

At first glance, this seems like a huge breakthrough. Mastercard recently became an industry pioneer by linking credit cards to DEX access, and now Japan is joining the trend.

SBI Holdings holds over $214 billion in assets under management, so its credit card division could potentially become a real market mover.

Unfortunately, this development seems like more of a gimmick. SBI users can exchange 2100 APLUS points for BTC, ETH, or XRP worth 2000 yen. However, the Japanese yen is very weak right now, so these credit card points will only buy $13.64 in crypto.

It’s not clear how easy it is to earn these points, but it may not scale well for real token acquisition.

Additionally, the firm was very sparse on practical details. It’s unclear how SBI will custody or transfer these assets, for example. Still, this program could onboard credit card users all across Japan to the Web3 industry.

Moreover, this is an important signal for adoption trends. Japan’s flailing economy has encouraged crypto investment, and SBI’s credit card subsidiary is joining the trend.

Many Japanese firms are investing heavily in crypto, and this phenomenon may even lead to friendlier crypto regulations.

In other words, even if the credit card redemption scheme itself is small-scale, it reflects crypto sentiment in Japan’s corporate sector. Signals like this can eventually represent monumental market trends.