Amid its growing commitment to rejuvenate the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region with blockchain innovation, crypto firm Ripple has announced an additional $5 million fund for blockchain education. Ripple stated that the fund will be raised through its global University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI).
Launched in 2018, UBRI is an initiative by Ripple to bolster research and development in the blockchain ecosystem by collaborating with universities across the globe. Essentially, the crypto firm aims to enhance blockchain education by providing funds and resources for the universities.
With its latest $5 million fund, Ripple will financially support six universities to innovate blockchain in the regions, with renewed partnerships in South Korea, Singapore, and Japan, and new grants in Taiwan and Australia.
Ripple’s blockchain expansion in Asia-Pacific universities
Ripple has granted Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University to build an autonomous AI agent network on XRP Ledger (XRPL), while in South Korea, Korea University’s collaboration with Ripple renews their partnership with a $1.1 million fund for blockchain research.
Meanwhile, Ripple will team up with the National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology in Taiwan. This collaboration intends to bring insights on real-world asset tokenization across XRPL, Ethereum, and Solana. The blockchain pioneer has also announced its renewed support for the National University of Singapore. Earlier in 2022, Ripple unveiled Asia’s first university-based Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) at the National University of Singapore.
The blockchain firm’s support in Australia is also significant, with the country’s Victoria University joining UBRI to establish blockchain curriculum development. The National University of Australia will remain committed to researching blockchain laws and smart contract technologies such as Evernode.
Why APAC matters to Ripple?
For Ripple, Asia-Pacific is a hub of the “highest concentration of neobanks” (digital banks) and rapidly mushrooming fintech markets. Besides, several countries in this region have welcomed fintech-supportive regulations, including a blockchain-friendly stance. What’s more, APAC is far ahead in using digital payments and crypto adoption, thanks to its existing strong tech companies and startups.
