Ripple, the blockchain-based payment protocol company, has earmarked an additional $5 million in investments to bolster blockchain education and research across the Asia Pacific region (APAC).
In an announcement made on 10 June 2025, it committed to expanding its University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) in the APAC region through the allocated funds. The additional $5 million will be used to further academic research and student-led innovations across six countries.
LATEST: #Ripple commits $5M to blockchain education in APAC via UBRI, impacting six countries A significant investment in the future of blockchain technology #XRP
https://t.co/N0YQrzz3yo pic.twitter.com/k7QesOpyn0 — ToniTheRippler (@thatgirl_chichi) June 10, 2025
The APAC region is home to some of the fastest-growing fintech markets. By renewing ties with South Korea, Japan, and Singapore and forging fresh alliances with Taiwan and Australia, Ripple aims to strengthen its position in the region, with total investments amounting to $11 million since UBRI’s launch.
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Technicalities of the UBRI Funding Scheme
UBRI has assured $1.1 million to Yonsei University (YU) in South Korea, 1.5 million to Kyoto University (KyotoU) in Japan, and in Singapore, the total funding has crossed $3 million between Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the National University of Singapore (NUS).
While the NTU will focus on developing an autonomous AI agent network on Ripple’s XRP ledger (XRPL), the company has renewed ties with the NUS after its past UBRI funding helped create the first university-based DAO (decentralised autonomous organisation) in Asia.
Professor Yang Liu of the College of Computing and Data Science at NTU said, “With our current grant, we are developing an autonomous AI agent network on the XRP Ledger to create a transparent, modular, accessible, and collaborative AI platform harnessing blockchain technology. We believe this innovation will be pivotal in shaping the future of AI.”
Furthermore, the company has partnered with the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) in Taiwan to research asset tokenisation on XRPL, Ethereum, and Solana networks.
“NKUST is excited about this new chapter, partnering with Ripple’s University Blockchain Research Initiative to explore the potential of Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenisation on the XRP Ledger,” said Echo Huang, a professor at NKUST.
Australia’s Victoria University (VU), in partnership with UBRI, will focus on developing a blockchain-based curriculum, meanwhile, the Australian National University (ANU) will continue its research into blockchain law and smart contract platforms such as Evernode.
Ripple’s total allocation across Australian universities stands at $1.3 million.
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UBRI Research Highlights Across APAC and Major Ripple Initiatives
Other Ripple UBRI-funded research in the APAC region includes research into blockchain sharding, layer 2 integration, and NFT privacy using zk-SNARKs (Succinct Non-interactive Argument of Knowledge) at Korea University (KU), conducted by professors Ik Rae Jong and Dong Hoon Lee.
Additionally, Professor Hyunok Oh from Hanyang University (HYU) in Korea is working on zk-SNARK optimisation for blockchain privacy and scalability.
Ripple will host its 7th annual UBRI Connect as a part of XRP Ledger Apex 2025, with a pre-summit at NUS in Singapore. The event will bring together experts from 60 institutions across 28 countries for academic panels, workshops, and research discussions.
The company has previously committed $25 million in RLUSD, Ripple’s homegrown stablecoin, to nonprofit organisations in the US to provide better resources for American teachers.
Ripple also intends to improve crypto-related education in the US and has launched the National Cryptocurrency Organisation, a non-profit, as a part of this initiative.
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Key Takeaways
- Ripple has committed an additional $5 million in investments to bolster blockchain education and research across the APAC region
- Ripple has invested more than $11m in the APAC region since UBRI’s launch
- Ties with South Korea, Japan, and Singapore have been renewed while fresh alliances have been formed with Taiwan and Australia
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