Rakuten Unleashes Shiba Inu Token Giveaway for Dog Photo Contest Winners

The Japanese tech giant Rakuten is launching its 'Photo Contest 2026' campaign, which will give away Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) tokens to its 44 million users for posting dog photos on X. The corporation will select 11 winners, each receiving 11,111,111 SHIB, worth about 10,000 yen, while the grand prize winner will get 1,111 DOGE, worth approximately 18,000 yen.

Local investors view small purchases of SHIB and DOGE as a form of 'digital merchandising,' collecting penny-priced digital items within familiar apps. Rakuten Wallet's integration of SHIB into its Pay network has transformed the asset from a speculative token to a spending mechanism usable across 5 million retail points.

This campaign continues a shift in Japan's tightly regulated crypto market, where retail giants are using ultra-cheap tokens as gamification tools. Rakuten Wallet's move intensifies competition with Mercari, which added SHIB trading through its Mercoin unit, allowing users to buy the token directly with loyalty points or proceeds from secondhand sales.