Rakuten

The explosion of NFT popularity in 2021 is continuing apace in the new year.

Major Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten has announced the launch of its own nonfungible token (NFT) trading platform dubbed Rakuten NFT.

The firm initially revealed its plans to launch a proprietary NFT marketplace in 2021 amid the growing popularity of non-fungible tokens worldwide. According to Rakuten, the NFT marketplace also hosts a platform that allows IP owners to create their own websites for issuing and selling NFTs.

Cointelegraph contacted the Rakuten team for further information on the development, and this story will be updated as more details become available.

With a population of over 126 million and a renowned pop culture that includes anime and manga, many people think that Japan has the ability to boost the adoption of blockchain assets such as crypto-collectibles.

#NFT adoption is forecast to increase around the world in future, a large number of people still don’t know what NFTs are.

Japan: 90%

Germany: 82.6%

UK: 78.8%

Argentina: 75.5%

US: 70.6%

Canada: 65.8%

Nigeria: 52.0%

<Finder. com>#TheCableIndex

— TheCableIndex (@thecableindex) November 24, 2021

Related: 26% of crypto investors in Japan tried out NFTs: Survey

In 2021, the worldwide NFT ecosystem experienced tremendous development. Following a record increase in trade volumes and adoption, major players in various sectors began dealing in non-fungible tokens.

With the value of the NFT market continuing to rise, interest in these innovative assets is growing in Japan. In March 2021, the country's local crypto exchange Coincheck debuted a dedicated NFT marketplace. In July, early cryptocurrency evangelist Mai Fujimoto, better known as Miss Bitcoin, teamed up with the blockchain gaming ecosystem Enjin to create an NFT charity program in Japan.