Ripple is significantly expanding its commitment to the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, injecting over $5 million in additional funding through its University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI).
This investment aims to cultivate next-generation blockchain talent and advance academic research across six countries.
The new funding strengthens existing partnerships in South Korea, Japan, and Singapore and establishes new collaborations in Taiwan and Australia. APAC is recognized as a global hub for digital finance, with progressive regulatory frameworks and a thriving community for builders.
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…
— Ripple (@Ripple) June 10, 2025
Key renewed partnerships include Korea University, which received $1.1 million for research into blockchain sharding efficiency and NFT privacy, as well as Kyoto University in Japan. In Singapore, UBRI is boosting its network with grants to Nanyang Technological University (NTU), where research on an autonomous AI agent network on the XRP Ledger is underway, and a renewed commitment to the National University of Singapore (NUS), which previously launched Asia’s first university DAO.
The new expansion sees a partnership with the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) in Taiwan, focusing on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and launching an XRPL Student Builders Club. In Australia, renewed funding for the Australian National University (ANU) supports advanced legal coursework and Evernode research, while a new collaboration with Victoria University will develop a blockchain curriculum.
Ripple’s Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, Eric van Miltenburg, stated,
“Strengthening existing partnerships—and welcoming new ones—reflects our continued commitment to supporting the talent and ideas shaping the future of blockchain.”
The announcement coincides with Ripple’s announcement of a new grant initiative aimed at accelerating the growth of Japan’s Web3 ecosystem, with a focus on projects building on the XRP Ledger. The program, revealed in a June 9 blog post, is a collaboration with Web3 Salon—a networking platform backed by the Asia Web3 Alliance Japan and supported by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). Through this initiative, Ripple will provide grants of up to $200,000 per selected project over the next year.
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