‘Mainstream access’ for XRP? Inside Rakuten’s 3 trillion point integration

Ripple’s XRP is gearing up for a massive utility-driven adoption in Japan. From the 15th of April, Ripple’s Tatsuya Kohrogi said that Rakuten, Japan’s largest e-commerce platform, will begin using XRP for payment and loyalty rewards.  Calling the move a ‘genuinely most significant milestone' for XRP, Kohrogi added,  Users can buy $XRP directly with Rakuten Points and charge their Rakuten Cash with XRP to spend it at over 5 million merchant locations across Japan. He noted that the platform has issued over 3 trillion points, worth over $23 billion. Rakuten has over 5 million merchants and 100 million users across Japan. According to the executive, this huge reservoir could be a ‘game-changer’ and a path to ‘mainstream access’ for XRP.  For the unfamiliar, Rakuten Wallet is part of the e-commerce giant’s fintech arm. Recently, it has doubled down on crypto support.  Interestingly, the latest update follows Japan’s recent classification of crypto as a financial instrument.  But can this timely bullish update help reverse XRP’s weak sentiment and trigger a recovery?  Why Santiment believes XRP is a great buy now That said, the altcoin has been range-bound between $1.27 and $1.67 since February. According to Santiment, the sideways structure has been marked by a two-year record of bearish sentiment and FUD.   For Santiment, however, this was an ‘encouraging low risk entry point’ for the altcoin, adding that,  Historically, when bullish comments get replaced by this level of bearish ones, the probability of a relief rally climbs significantly higher. Prices move the opposite direction of the crowd's expectations. But there was another risk factor worth pointing out. The recent XRP relief rallies have been exhausted by whale sell-offs, as shown by spikes in Whale to Exchange Flow.  For example, the early March attempt to break above $1.6 saw whale sell-off hit nearly 45K XRP on a daily average. Similarly, the altcoin’s 3.84% surge on the 14th of April, as Bitcoin [BTC] retested $74K, attracted another round of whale selling pressure. So, despite Santiment’s bullish outlook for the altcoin at the current level, its recovery attempts will be weakened if whale sell-offs don’t ease.  Final Summary Japan’s largest e-commerce platform will integrate XRP for payment and rewards, underscoring mainstream utility for the altcoin Santiment said current FUD levels suggested XRP was in a strong buy zone, but whale sell-offs were still a short-term risk.