Through its UBRI program, Ripple invests $5M+ in APAC universities, delivering blockchain research, AI, and XRPL innovation in South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, and Australia.

Ripple is increasing its push to develop blockchain technology throughout the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region with more than $5 million in additional funding via its University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI). This investment focuses on academic institutions across six countries, reinforced partnerships in South Korea, Japan, and Singapore, and new programs in Taiwan and Australia.

The investment demonstrates that Ripple is dedicated to supporting blockchain talent and innovative research. One of the centers of digital finance innovation is the APAC region, which is a global leader in fintech, with a high concentration of neobanks and controlled environments to test innovative products under relaxed regulatory requirements.

The region is ripe with the adoption of digital assets and modern payment systems by governments and institutions.

Ripple is Enabling Blockchain Learning

With the UBRI, it has been more than seven years since Ripple became a pioneer in blockchain education, providing universities with the tools they need to educate the next generation of builders. Ripple has also extended a previous 6-year, $1.1 million partnership with Korea University in South Korea and extended another collaboration with Yonsei University. In Japan, funding for Kyoto University and the University of Tokyo has recently surpassed the level of $1.5 million, which has spurred advanced blockchain-related studies.

Ripple is deepening its connections in Singapore through a new grant to Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and ongoing investments in the National University of Singapore (NUS), amounting to more than $3 million in the region. Professor Yang Liu at NTU is using UBRI funding to build an AI agent network on the XRP Ledger to create a transparent, collaborative AI platform.

At NUS, other notable results have been achieved as well, with earlier UBRI investments allowing the establishment of the first university-based Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) in Asia and a tripling of the number of fintech graduates in 2021, which brought NUS the recognition of being the world’s leading blockchain university of the year.

Ripple Deepens Blockchain Studies in Taiwan and Australia

UBRI is in partnership with the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST), the 13th APAC partner of UBRI. Under the direction of Dr. Echo Huang, NKUST is investigating the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA) on the XRP Ledger and the technical and regulatory implications of doing so, in addition to other blockchains, such as Ethereum and Solana.

The initiative includes a student-led XRPL Builders Club and an XRPL validator to engage Taiwan’s blockchain community. “This partnership with Ripple allows us to unlock new opportunities through RWA tokenization and empower Taiwan’s next generation of innovators,” Huang said.

In Australia, UBRI is deepening ties with the Australian National University (ANU) and launching a new collaboration with Victoria University, with total investments reaching $1.3 million. ANU’s funding supports legal studies on blockchain and research into Evernode.

It is a Layer 2 smart contract platform for the XRP Ledger, while Victoria University focuses on blockchain curriculum development.

Ripple’s University is Pioneering Research and Innovation

UBRI has invested over $11 million in APAC to support research in blockchain, cybersecurity, and fintech. At Korea University, Professors Ik Rae Jong and Dong Hoon Lee are advancing blockchain sharding, Layer 2 solutions, and NFT privacy using Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) and zk-SNARKs.

Professor Junghee Lee is developing secure crypto finance devices and privacy-preserving transaction mixers. Professor Hyunok Oh at Hanyang University is working to improve the efficiency of zk-SNARK to achieve scalability and privacy in blockchain.

Building the Future of Finance

The UBRI program by Ripple is playing a central role in making the APAC region a blockchain innovation leader. Ripple is leading the mass adoption of blockchain technology worldwide by building academic partnerships and funding research that can change the face of blockchain technology.

Eric van Miltenburg, Ripple’s Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, emphasized, “APAC has been a fintech powerhouse, and our long-term investment in its academic institutions is fueling the talent and ideas that will shape blockchain’s future.”

This year, Ripple will host the 7th annual UBRI Connect at XRP Ledger Apex, uniting researchers from 60 universities across 28 countries.

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