The post Japanese Firm to Test Bitcoin and XRP Redemption Via Credit Card Points appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

SBI Group, a financial services firm in Japan, is letting users buy BTC, ETH, and XRP with credit card points. Credit card companies are integrating crypto worldwide right now. For now, this experiment is very small-scale, as it only enables purchases under $15 at one time. Still, SBI’s decision may reflect growing pro-crypto sentiment across Japanese corporations. 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…

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Filed under: News - @ July 9, 2025 12:26 am