The point economy has become so well established that it is no exaggeration to call it the second currency. More than 60% of people have used cashless payment (Survey on Service Use in the Point Economy in January 2024, MMD Research Institute, March 2024). At present, shopping and saving techniques that take into account the interest rate of points are used as a matter of course.
By the way, did you know that various point businesses have been entering the cryptocurrency industry in recent years? There is data that shows that consumers are more willing to use saved points than cash deposits, so the aim is to lower the psychological hurdle of touching cryptocurrency by getting people to use points.
As a service aimed at cryptocurrency beginners, each company has simplified the procedures, and some services allow you to manage your assets with almost no risk. In addition, depending on the company, it is possible to exchange not only Bitcoin but also Ethereum and XRP. Until now, the most common way to use points was to exchange them for various gift certificates or buy and sell on e-commerce sites, but from now on, options such as investing points in crypto assets and increasing them may also be included.
Of particular note is the service of purchasing crypto assets using points given by securities companies. There are probably very few people who have used points given by securities companies or credit cards for anything other than shopping. Securities companies are probably prepared to have users use those points to purchase crypto assets within their own company, so that they will recognize crypto assets as an asset class.
The fact that companies are starting to establish paths to crypto assets in this way means that crypto assets are undoubtedly being recognized in Japan as a new market of the future. If you are thinking of purchasing crypto assets in the future, why not use your accumulated points for now?
Did you know that Rakuten Point Club has a service called "Point Bitcoin"? With this service, when you deposit your Rakuten points, they are considered as pseudo Bitcoin, and from then on, your Rakuten points will increase or decrease in line with the Bitcoin price.
Since you are not actually purchasing Bitcoin, there is no fee for the purchase, and even if your Rakuten points increase as the price rises, they are not considered income because Rakuten has only given you points as a service. In other words, you are not taxed on the amount you own.
The increased points can also be withdrawn as Rakuten points. If you withdraw the points and use them to make a purchase, they may be considered economic profits and subject to taxation, but you don't need to worry about it because it will fall within the special deduction limit for temporary income.
"Point Bitcoin" can be managed from 100 Rakuten points. Everyone has probably experienced getting a fractional point of about 100 points when shopping on Rakuten Market. You can deposit these fractional points and experience the price movements of Bitcoin.
Withdrawals can be made in increments of 30 points, so if you make a profit of 30 points or more on the amount you deposited, you can withdraw the money each time, making it possible to make extremely small investments. This allows you to experience investments with extremely low risk.
.png?w=1200&h=961)
Revenues from cryptocurrency are treated as miscellaneous income under tax law. Therefore, if you are a salaried worker, you are required to file a tax return and pay tax if the total of your income from cryptocurrency trading and other miscellaneous income exceeds 200,000 yen. Miscellaneous income includes income from side jobs, pensions, and winnings from public gambling, so it is surprisingly easy to exceed this amount. However, points given by companies are classified as "temporary income" and are not taxed until they are used.
Since they are points, if you just hold them, they are tax-free. Furthermore, even if you use them, they are subject to deductions until they exceed 500,000 yen, so there is almost no need to file a tax return.
With the widespread use of subscription music and video streaming services, the number of video rental stores has drastically decreased. I'm sure the rental store from your youth that was in your neighborhood has quietly closed down. If that happens, what will happen is what to do with the V points (formerly T points) you have saved up.
As one of the oldest point operators in Japan, the company's official website shows that you can use your points at a variety of stores, but these stores have their own point services or allow you to use other points, so you tend to forget to save up your V points.
Is there an effective way to use them before they expire? For those who are wondering about this, we recommend exchanging your V points for Bitcoin. In fact, V points are affiliated with bitFlyer, and if you have a bitFlyer account, you can use your V points to purchase Bitcoin. By the way, you can purchase Bitcoin with 100 V points.
The interesting thing about this service is that if you make a Bitcoin payment of 500 yen or more, you will be refunded with V points. It is designed to allow users to convert V Points into crypto assets and then accumulate V Points by using crypto assets for payments.
However, there are some drawbacks in terms of the point exchange rate. In principle, V Points can be used at a rate of 1 point = 1 yen, but 100 points have an exchange rate of 85 yen for Bitcoin. To purchase 500 yen worth of Bitcoin, you need 589 yen worth of V Points. When you use 589 yen worth of V Points to shop, you get 1 V Point back. When you remember that when you were accumulating V Points at regular stores, the return rate was 1 point for every 100 yen, so the exchange rate seems unfavorable.
However, the method introduced here is a way to utilize points that are just lying dormant. The expiration date of V Points is one year from the last date of use. If you have your utility bills automatically debited using an SMBC credit card, your T Points will also be automatically updated, but if you have lost track of how to use your old T Points, it is worth remembering this.
Monex Group, a major domestic securities company, has a service called Monex Points. These points accumulate naturally by purchasing and holding various investment trusts at Monex Securities, or by using the Monex Card. Until now, Monex Points could be used to pay commissions for various stock transactions and to purchase investment trusts, and can also be exchanged for points from major domestic point providers. This service has been very popular among Monex users.
Did you know that you can actually use these points to purchase crypto assets? Monex Group has a crypto asset exchange called Coincheck. With Monex Points, you can exchange them for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP through Coincheck.
As you can see from the brands, they are all major crypto assets and relatively stable currencies. This is because Monex Group wants investors to try out purchasing crypto assets and become interested in crypto asset investments. The exchange unit is 200 Monex points (1 Monex point is equivalent to 1 yen), and you can start with a very small amount, which shows the Monex Group's aim to get people to get involved with crypto assets.
According to Monex Securities, compared to other services such as exchange for Amazon points, exchange for crypto assets is still sluggish. However, investors who trade securities will likely have a lot of Monex points. There is no harm in using some of those points to buy crypto assets, thinking of them as easy money.
It is true that the three stocks are stable compared to other crypto assets, but their volatility is still much greater than other securities products, and there is a possibility of making a profit in the short term. If you think of the initial investment as points, you can start investing with ease.
The drawback is that you need to use one of the Monex Group's services to use it.
Interview Iolite FACE vol.10 David Schwartz, Hirata Roi PHOTO & INTERVIEW "Yukos" Special feature "Trends in the cryptocurrency industry in Japan", "Trump vs. Harris: What will happen to the cryptocurrency industry?", "Was the reputation economy a prophecy?" Interview: Simon Gerovich, Metaplanet Co., Ltd., Kim Dong-Gyu, CALIVERSE Series Tech and Future Sasaki Toshinao...etc.
