Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc. is set to expand support for cryptocurrencies, possibly including cryptocurrency exchange services, via an upgrade to an existing mobile app coming March 18.

The news cames in the company’s financial results published Feb. 12. The Rakuten Pay app will provide support for bitcoin and possibly other cryptocurrencies.

The exact details are not entirely clear. Rakuten has accepted bitcoin as a payment method since 2015, one of the first major companies to do so. Rakuten initially offered bitcoin payment support through a company called Bitnet Technologies Inc. which it acquired in 2016.

Hinting at what may be coming in March, Rakuten acquired cryptocurrency exchange Everybody’s Bitcoin in August for $2.4 million. At the time of the purchase, Rakuten said that “the role of cryptocurrency-based payments in e-commerce, offline retail and in P2P payments will grow in the future” and that “in order to provide cryptocurrency payment methods smoothly, we believe it is necessary for us to provide a cryptocurrency exchange function.”

The latter point is the key. While the cryptocurrency media speculates that Rakuten may be accepting bitcoin payments, something it has done for four years now, the new feature may actually offer full cryptocurrency exchange services.

If Rakuten is about to offer cryptocurrency exchange services, it will be a boost for the market. According to its own figures, Rakuten has 1.2 billion “members” across the world. Because of regulatory issues, it’s unlikely the company will offer global cryptocurrency services initially, but it will start in its home market of  Japan.

In Japan, Rakuten, as of April, had 95 million customers, all of which could potentially be offered cryptocurrency exchange services come March.

The service would also have indirect opportunities. Rakuten owns messaging service Viber and is also a significant investor in Lyft Inc. Presuming it does see cryptocurrency exchange services as a growth opportunity, it may be set to be the first major e-commerce player to enter the market in a big way.

Rakuten is a fan of general blockchain technology as well. It announced in February 2018 that it was rolling out a blockchain-based loyalty system that will incorporate its existing point system.

Photo: 31029865@N06/Flickr