The short answer: how to buy XRP in Japan
To buy XRP with yen, open an account at an exchange registered with the Financial Services Agency, deposit yen from a bank account in your own name, and buy. XRP is one of the most widely listed coins in the country: on the FSA register, 13 of the 14 retail-relevant firms list it. Only Zaif does not. So availability is rarely the problem. What matters is whether the exchange has an order bookA board where buyers and sellers post orders and trade with each other. Fees are lower than at a dealer desk and you can set your own price with a limit order., the minimum order size, and how you can fund the account.
The steps for opening an account are the same as for Bitcoin, so we do not repeat them here. If you are new, start with how to buy Bitcoin in Japan for the documents, eKYC and bank-name rules, then come back for what is specific to XRP.
Open an account where XRP is listed
Residence card or My Number Card, Japanese bank account in your name, smartphone.
Deposit yen
Instant deposit or bank transfer. The sender name must match your account name.
Buy at the dealer desk or on the order book
Dealer desk for simplicity, order book for lower cost.
Check the tag when sending
Address plus destination tag where required, tested with a small amount.
Keep records
Annual reports and trade history for your tax return.
What XRP is, in plain language
XRP is the coin used on the XRP Ledger, a network connected with the US company Ripple. Where Bitcoin is pitched as digital gold, XRP was designed from the start to make cross-border payments faster and cheaper. Transactions settle in seconds and cost a tiny fraction of a yen.
You will hear it described as a bridge currencyA currency used as the middle step when swapping between two other currencies, for example yen to XRP to Philippine peso, so you avoid a thin direct market.. There is no deep direct market between yen and, say, Philippine pesos, so a remittance company can swap yen into XRP, send it, and swap it into pesos at the other end. That is a business use. Most individuals buy XRP for investment, not to send money.
XRP also differs from Bitcoin in supply. Its total supply was set at the outset and a large share has been held by Ripple-related parties, so investors tend to look at issuance and holdings differently from Bitcoin’s fixed schedule.
Why XRP is so popular in Japan
According to the Japan Virtual and Crypto assets Exchange Association (JVCEA), domestic spot volume in August 2026 was ¥764.4 billion. Bitcoin took 60.6%, Ethereum 18.2% and XRP 13.4%, or about ¥102.7 billion, third place. Globally, XRP’s share of volume is much smaller, which makes Japan an outlier.
The reason most often given is the long relationship between SBI Group and Ripple. SBI Holdings is a Ripple shareholder, and SBI has used Ripple technology for payments since 2017. In 2021 the remittance firm SBI Remit began using XRP as a bridge in its Japan–Philippines corridor, reported as a first in Japan, and SBI VC Trade carries out the XRP transfers behind that service. SBI VC Trade also lets Orico and Aplus card points convert into XRP and backs an SBI VISA card that can pay rewards in Bitcoin, Ethereum or XRP, so the coin has several low-effort entry points.
Coincheck has also added XRP to its points exchange for Saison Card’s Eikyu Fumetsu points. We cover those routes in points to crypto and crypto credit cards. Treat all of this as context rather than proof: popularity has several causes and nobody has isolated one.
Where to buy XRP: listings, order books and fees
Japanese exchanges offer two ways to buy. The dealer desk (販売所, hanbaijo)Hanbaijo. The exchange itself is your counterparty. It is simple to use, but the gap between its buy and sell prices (the spread) is your real cost. is one tap, but you pay through the spread. The order book (取引所, torihikijo) is cheaper and gives you price control. XRP is unusual among mid-size coins in how many exchanges give it an order book.
| Exchange | How you can buy | Order-book fee (maker / taker) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| CEX.IO | Card purchase (from about $20) | — | International platform, not FSA-registered, no yen, Japan unsupported. Suits visitors and non-residents with foreign cards |
| SBI VC Trade | Dealer desk + order book | −0.01% / 0.05% | Order book from 1 XRP. Free crypto deposits and withdrawals |
| GMO Coin | Dealer desk + order book | −0.01% / 0.05% | Order book from 1 XRP. Free crypto sends |
| bitbank | Dealer desk + order book | −0.02% / 0.12% | Every coin has an order book. Minimum 0.0001 XRP |
| Coincheck | Dealer desk (XRP also appears in its exchange fee table) | 0% / 0% | Dealer spread published at 0.1–5.0%. From ¥500 |
| bitFlyer | Dealer desk + order book (Lightning) | 0.01–0.15% by volume | XRP/JPY order book (archived data). From ¥1 |
| Binance Japan | Dealer desk + exchange | 0.10% / 0.10% (VIP0) | Yen pairs; confirm the XRP pair on its list |
| OKJ | Exchange + dealer desk | 0.07% / 0.14% (Lv1) | Minimum varies by coin |
| Rakuten Wallet | Dealer-style spot (from ¥100) | — | Order book only for margin trading |
| Mercoin | Inside the Mercari app (from ¥1) | — | Pay from your Merpay balance or sales proceeds |
| BitTrade and others | Listed | — | BitTrade, CoinTrade, Coin Estate (FINX) and S.BLOX also list XRP; check for an order book |
For order-book buying, SBI VC Trade, GMO Coin and bitbank stand out because their maker fee is negative. A negative makerThe maker is the person whose limit order waits in the book. A negative fee means you are paid a small rebate when your resting order is filled. fee means a limit order that waits in the book and gets filled earns a small rebate, while an order that takes existing liquidity (a market order) pays the taker fee. If you can wait, a limit order is usually the cheapest way in.
At a dealer desk, the headline fee may be zero, but the spreadThe difference between the dealer desk’s buy and sell price. It is an invisible cost on top of any fee and can widen in volatile markets. is the cost. Only Coincheck (0.1–5.0%) and Zaif publish ranges. For a few thousand yen that is fine; for larger amounts the order book is usually cheaper. Our exchange fee comparison covers deposit and withdrawal costs side by side.
About CEX.IO
CEX.IO, at the top of the table, is an international platform with US money-transmitter licensing in many states and a UK FCA-registered cryptoasset business. It is not registered with Japan’s FSA, does not support yen, and lists Japan among unsupported countries. It is relevant for visitors or non-residents using a foreign card, not for people living in Japan.
Minimums and how to fund your account
You never buy a whole coin. At dealer desks the minimum is ¥1 at Mercoin and SBI VC Trade, ¥100 at GMO Coin and Rakuten Wallet, and about ¥500 at Coincheck. On order books, GMO Coin and SBI VC Trade start at 1 XRP and bitbank at 0.0001 XRP.
Funding is where residents and foreigners both get caught. Every exchange requires the deposit to come from a bank account in your own name, in the same katakana name you registered. SBI VC Trade’s quick deposit is free around the clock, and GMO Coin’s instant deposit is free from Docomo SMTB Net Bank, PayPay Bank and Japan Post Bank. If you want to pay at a convenience store, Coincheck (¥770 or ¥1,018) and BitTrade (¥695–¥1,005) are confirmed on their pages. bitbank accepts transfers only to GMO Aozora Net Bank or Docomo SMTB Net Bank. See payment methods for the rest.
Withdrawals matter if you plan to leave. Yen withdrawals are free at SBI VC Trade and GMO Coin (¥10,000 minimum), ¥407 at Coincheck, and ¥550 or ¥770 at bitbank.
Destination tags: the most common XRP mistake
When you send XRP to another exchange you may be asked for a destination tagA number added to an XRP transfer that tells the receiving exchange which customer the deposit belongs to, because many customers share one deposit address. in addition to the address. Exchanges give many customers the same XRP deposit address and use the tag to tell them apart. A missing or wrong tag means the exchange cannot tell whose deposit it is.
GMO Coin’s fee table spells out the cost: if a tagless or wrongly tagged deposit can be credited it charges 10% of the amount (capped at about ¥30,000), and if it cannot it charges a flat ¥30,000 per coin. Some cases cannot be recovered at all, so avoid the mistake in the first place.
- Copy both the address and the tag from the receiving exchange; do not type them.
- Send a small test amount to any new destination and wait for it to arrive.
- If you are sending to your own wallet, check whether that wallet needs a tag.
- Read the confirmation screen before you approve.
Sending between Japanese exchanges also triggers the Travel RuleRules since June 2023 requiring exchanges to pass sender and recipient information to each other. In practice you declare whom you are sending to and whether the wallet is your own., so expect to declare whether the destination is your own wallet or another provider. Some external-wallet sends also have minimums; reports put GMO Coin’s at 0.1 ETH and 50 XRP, but we could not confirm that on an official page, so check before you send. For wallet choices see crypto wallets in Japan.
Staking and lending for XRP
XRP has no staking, so you will not find it on the staking lists at SBI VC Trade (14 coins), GMO Coin (ETH, DOT, ATOM, ADA, SOL, ASTR) or OKJ (12 coins). Some exchanges offer crypto lending instead: SBI VC Trade lends 32 coins at up to 10% a year and GMO Coin lends 19 coins at 0.05–10%. Check whether XRP is on the list and what the rate is on the official page. Lent coins cannot be sold or sent while lent, and you take on the provider’s credit risk.
How XRP is taxed in Japan
Buying XRP with yen and holding it is not taxable. Taxable events are selling it for yen, swapping it into another coin, and paying for goods with it. The National Tax Agency FAQ is explicit that crypto-to-crypto swaps count. Profit is generally miscellaneous incomeZasshotoku. A catch-all income category taxed together with your salary and other income at progressive rates, so the total including resident tax can reach about 55%., added to your other income and taxed at progressive rates of 5–45% plus 10% resident tax.
Cost basis is calculated by the total-average or moving-average method. Losses cannot be offset against other income or carried forward. If you hold accounts at several exchanges, combine all of them. Lending or reward income is taxed on receipt (NTA FAQ 1-7).
A 20.315% separate tax was enacted in 2026 for specified crypto-assets, but it starts in 2028 at the earliest and which coins will qualify has not been decided, so do not assume XRP is covered. See crypto tax in Japan and the 20% tax reform. This is general information; ask a tax office or a tax accountant for your case.
Is XRP a security? The US case in brief
The US Securities and Exchange Commission sued Ripple in 2020. In 2023 a federal judge ruled that XRP sold on public exchanges was not an investment contract, while sales to institutional buyers were unregistered securities offerings. In August 2025 both sides dismissed their appeals and the case ended. The roughly $125 million penalty and the injunction against Ripple remained in place.
That outcome does not mean XRP is “not a security” everywhere. In Japan, XRP trades on FSA-registered exchanges, and the July 2026 amendment moves crypto generally under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, with most provisions due within a year. See crypto regulation in Japan.
Risks and how to avoid mistakes
Price swings are the first risk. XRP can move sharply on news, so avoid money you need soon and consider buying in instalments. The second is scams: fake “XRP giveaway” posts, impersonated investment groups and apps removed from app stores. Stay with FSA-registered exchanges (crypto scams in Japan, offshore exchanges), and remember that coins left on an exchange carry that company’s credit risk.
If you move to or from Japan, take a snapshot of your holdings and history before closing accounts; see moving to or leaving Japan. For other coins see the coin guide, Ethereum and Solana.
Buying XRP in Japan: FAQ
Which exchanges in Japan sell XRP?
On the FSA register as of 30 September 2026, bitFlyer, bitbank, GMO Coin, BitTrade, SBI VC Trade, Coincheck, Rakuten Wallet, OKJ, Binance Japan, Mercoin, CoinTrade, Coin Estate (FINX) and S.BLOX list XRP. Of the 14 retail-relevant firms, only Zaif does not.
Why is XRP so popular in Japan?
XRP took 13.4% of domestic spot volume in August 2026 (JVCEA), well above its usual global share. Commonly cited reasons are the long SBI Group and Ripple relationship, SBI VC Trade’s focus on XRP and easy entry points such as points exchange and a card that pays rewards in XRP. No single cause is proven.
What is a destination tag and do I need one?
A destination tag is a number that tells an exchange which customer an XRP deposit belongs to, because many customers share one address. If a tag is required and you leave it out or get it wrong, the deposit may not be credited. GMO Coin lists a recovery fee of 10% of the amount (capped at about ¥30,000) when a misdirected deposit can be credited.
Can I buy XRP in Japan without a Japanese bank account?
For the registered exchanges, no. They require a deposit from a bank account in your own name, and residents need identity documents such as a residence card. Visitors and non-residents sometimes use an international platform with a foreign card, but those platforms are not FSA-registered and do not support yen.
Is XRP a security? Is it legal to trade in Japan?
In the US, a 2023 court ruling held that public exchange sales were not securities offerings while institutional sales were, and both sides dropped their appeals in August 2025, ending the case. In Japan, XRP is traded on FSA-registered exchanges, and crypto is moving under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act following the July 2026 amendment.
How is XRP taxed in Japan?
Gains from selling, swapping into another coin or paying with XRP are miscellaneous income, taxed together with your other income at up to about 55% including resident tax. The 20% separate tax applies only to specified crypto-assets, starts in 2028 at the earliest, and which coins qualify has not been decided.
Sources
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