Ripple Labs Commits Additional $5M to Boost Blockchain Research in Asia-Pacific

Ripple Labs has pledged an additional $5 million to advance blockchain research and education across the Asia-Pacific region.

The funding will be distributed through its long-running University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI), which supports academic institutions working on blockchain technology.

The additional funds will support universities in six countries, with new grants earmarked for Taiwan and Australia. Ripple also renewed its partnerships in South Korea, Japan, and Singapore.

According to a blog post on Tuesday, the company described this expansion as part of a long-term strategy to nurture blockchain talent and academic research in one of the world’s most active fintech regions.

“Asia-Pacific has long been a hub of fintech and blockchain innovation, and Ripple has been proud to invest in the region’s academic talent from the very beginning,” said Eric van Miltenburg, Ripple’s SVP of Strategic Initiatives.

Academic research is the engine behind blockchain breakthroughs: https://t.co/RnzZiqUB6f

Ripple has been investing in the next generation of blockchain talent for over seven years, and we're deepening that commitment in Asia-Pacific with new UBRI partnerships, including our…

In South Korea, Ripple has renewed a six-year, $1.1 million partnership with Korea University and continues to support research at Yonsei University and Hanyang University. Professors, there are working on zero-knowledge proof technology, Layer 2 solutions, and privacy-focused tools.

Ripple has also extended its support in Japan, where total UBRI funding for the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University now exceeds $1.5 million.

Singapore also remains a key partner. Ripple has provided a new grant to Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and renewed funding for the National University of Singapore (NUS), raising its total funding in the country to more than $3 million. At NTU, research teams are building an AI agent network on the XRP Ledger.

“This grant significantly enhances our research and empowers us to pursue high-impact projects,” said Professor Yang Liu of NTU. “It also enables more students and researchers to engage with the blockchain ecosystem.”

In Taiwan, Ripple is launching its first UBRI partnership with the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST). The university will explore real-world asset tokenization using XRPL and launch a student builder club and XRPL validator.

Australia is also seeing renewed investment. The Australian National University (ANU) received funding to support legal research on blockchain and XRPL development. Victoria University joined UBRI to work on blockchain curriculum and applied research.

The funding supports blockchain law courses, research on Layer 2 platforms like Evernode, and student publications.

Since its launch, UBRI has invested over $11 million in Asia and partnered with 13 institutions in the region. Ripple plans to bring together global blockchain researchers this year for its seventh annual UBRI Connect, hosted during the XRP Ledger Apex event in Singapore.

“Seven years into UBRI and with 60 university partners globally, we’ve seen firsthand the value of long-term collaboration, Asia-Pacific has long been a hub of blockchain innovation, and we’re proud to deepen our investment here,” Eric added.

As Ripple ramps up its support for blockchain research in Asia-Pacific, the company is also deepening its global philanthropic efforts.

In May, Ripple announced a $25 million commitment to U.S. education nonprofits DonorsChoose and Teach For America. In a first, the two organizations will receive the majority of the grant in Ripple’s USD-backed stablecoin, RLUSD.

The funding will support a wide range of education programs throughout the year, covering thousands of classroom projects, Teach For America’s Ignite tutoring program, and the STEM Innovation Challenge.

This comes shortly after Ripple’s $50 million grant in March to support the launch of the National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA), a nonprofit working to raise crypto awareness across the U.S.

@NatCryptoAssoc has launched to improve crypto literacy in the U.S., backed by a $50 million grant from @Ripple.#ripple #nca #xrphttps://t.co/p5BVP9Ofun

The NCA plans to offer educational resources and public engagement to help users better understand crypto’s real-world use.

A survey backed by Ripple revealed that over 80% of Americans want more guidance on digital assets.

Meanwhile, in Asia, Ripple has extended its support to early-stage Web3 projects in Japan through a new partnership with the Asia Web3 Alliance’s Web3 Salon.

Startups building on the XRP Ledger (XRPL) can apply for grants of up to $200,000 per project, funded through Ripple’s XRPL Japan and Korea Fund, a slice of its broader 1 billion XRP developer support initiative.

Since 2018, Ripple says it has donated over $200 million globally, with nearly 80% of its workforce participating in community impact programs.

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