Bitget Wallet and Netstars explore self-custodial crypto payments integration into Japan's stablecoin QR payment ecosystem

Bitget Wallet is exploring the integration of self-custodial crypto payments into Japan’s stablecoin payment ecosystem through discussions with Netstars, a payment infrastructure provider. The initiative focuses on how crypto wallets can connect to existing merchant networks, potentially bringing stablecoin payments into Japan’s widely used cashless and QR-based payment environment.

How the talks are structured

The discussions are taking place under Netstars’ StarPay-X concept, described as a financial gateway intended to link Web2 payment infrastructure with Web3 systems, including wallets, stablecoins and blockchains. Both parties are evaluating how wallet-based payments could be embedded into real-world QR payment flows, with use cases including in-store payments and cross-border transactions.

Netstars also operates a QR payment aggregation network in Japan, connecting multiple domestic and international payment methods across merchants.

Building on Bitget Wallet’s QR push

The talks build on Bitget Wallet’s broader effort to make self-custodial crypto usable in everyday commerce. Last week, the company announced an expansion of its QR payment capabilities across Asia-Pacific, enabling users to pay with stablecoins such as USDT and USDC by scanning local merchant QR codes. The rollout was positioned as an early large-scale deployment of crypto QR payments in the region, designed to integrate with existing checkout behavior rather than require new payment systems.

Why Japan is a focus

Japan is highlighted as a key market for this transition, where cashless payments have reached nearly 40% of total transactions. QR-based payments are also described as one of the fastest-growing segments. Platforms such as PayPay and LINE Pay together serve tens of millions of users and are accepted across millions of merchants nationwide.

While the payments ecosystem remains fragmented across providers, QR aggregation layers such as Netstars are described as helping standardize merchant-level access to multiple payment methods through a unified interface.

Company perspective

“What matters is not replacing existing systems, but connecting to what already works at scale,” said Alvin Kan, COO of Bitget Wallet. He said QR payments are already a dominant interface in many Asian markets and that the goal is to make self-custodial assets usable within that experience without changing how users or merchants transact.

Bitget Wallet also said the collaboration aims to reduce the gap between onchain assets and real-world spending environments by connecting wallet-based payments to established QR infrastructure.

Underlying infrastructure and broader regional context

The initiative is supported by Bitget Wallet’s Onchain Payments Matrix, described as payment infrastructure that connects blockchains, wallets and regional payment rails.

The move aligns with wider payment trends across Asia-Pacific, where scanning to pay is already embedded in daily commerce. The article cites that digital wallets accounted for 38% of global point-of-sale spend in 2024, while in APAC they represented 59% of transaction value and were the leading online payment method in eight of 14 markets tracked by Worldpay. It also states that the region accounted for more than 60% of global QR payment activity in 2025, with total QR payment value projected to grow from $5.4 trillion in 2025 to over $8 trillion by 2029.