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Ripple launches fund for Japan and Korea to promote blockchain innovation
The Ripple cryptocurrency is seen in this illustrative photo taken in Krakow, Poland, on June 4, 2021. (Photo illustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Blockchain company Ripple has launched a Fund for Japan and Koreaaimed at driving innovation on the XRP Ledger as it continues to expand its presence in Asia-Pacific.
XRP is Ripple’s native cryptocurrency powered by XRP Ledger, an open source public blockchain built for businesses. Ripple uses blockchain and cryptocurrencies to facilitate real-time cross-border payments.
The funds will go to support corporate partnerships, developer grants, startup investments and community growth, Ripple said in a statement on Tuesday. The XRPL Japan and Korea Fund is part of Ripple’s commitment to 1 billion XRP aimed at providing financial, technical and business support to developers, announced in March 2022.
“The launch of this fund is a testament to Ripple’s strong belief in the potential of Japan and Korea as key regional hubs for blockchain innovation,” said Emi Yoshikawa, vice president of strategic initiatives at Ripple, according to the statement.
The expansion comes as the cryptocurrency industry faces a problem “hostile regulatory environment” in the United StatesRipple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said this on CNBC earlier this month.
Ripple said last year that Asia-Pacific is “one of the fastest growing regions” and that it will continue to “prioritize the region for the adoption of its crypto payment services.”
In April, Ripple partnered with a Tokyo-based company HashKey DX to bring XRPL-based supply chain finance solutions to the Japanese market. It was also launched SBI Ripple Asia in 2016, a joint venture with Japanese financial services company SBI Holdings, to promote the adoption of Ripple payment solutions in the region.
Ripple said the XRP Ledger will be used to issue official Expo NFTs to millions of attendees at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Japan. Non-fungible tokens are unique objects from the virtual world that come in the form of works of art, audio or video and are stored and verified using blockchain technology
Ripple got a Full license to operate in Singapore in October since the city-state was established as the Asia-Pacific headquarters in 2017.
In April, Ripple has announced the launch of a US dollar stablecoinwhich is said President Monica Long It would “probably” happen this year.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in October abandoned claims against Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen in his December 2020 lawsuit alleging that Ripple had violated laws sell XRP without first registering the token with the SEC.