Ripple Partners With Kyoto University, University of Tokyo for Blockchain Research

Published at: July 30, 2019

Cryptocurrency giant Ripple has partnered with Kyoto University and the University of Tokyo as part of its University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI). Ripple announced its new Japanese partnerships in a press release on July 30.

Emi Yoshikawa, senior director of global operations at Ripple, noted that there is high interest in blockchain within Japanese academia:

“Japan is quickly becoming a leading force in crypto assets and blockchain. The region has always been forward thinking and exploring ways to improve the current financial system [...] We have seen high levels of interest from the academic community on topics around blockchain and crypto. Ripple is committed to engaging and inspiring students to become part of the workforce of the future, across areas such as blockchain, distributed computing, banking and fintech.”

The University of Tokyo will reportedly award scholarships to students doing blockchain research, and its economics department is also arranging public seminars on blockchain and settlement. 

The university’s economic professors are also engaged in research on the evolving financial system, as well as frameworks for regulation and supervision for crypto assets and blockchain technology.

At Kyoto University, graduate students are conducting blockchain research in areas such as remittances by migrant workers, digital identity management for refugees and supply chain management.

University Blockchain Research Initiative

According to the announcement, Ripple provides financial resources as well as expertise and technical resources to support research. UBRI is currently partnered with 33 universities, as per the press release. 

Ripple states that it believes the demand for tech solutions is growing as globalization increases and hopes that by partnering with universities, the company can help usher in a new generation of engineers, business leaders, entrepreneurs and other professionals who are blockchain literate. Eric van Miltenburg, senior vice-president of global operations at Ripple, commented:

“As the industry matures, the academic community plays a pivotal role in paving the road for innovative companies and entrepreneurs leveraging blockchain technologies and digital assets.”

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the Institute for Fintech Research at Beijing’s Tsinghua University partnered with UBRI in January. The university launched the Blockchain Technology Research Scholarship Program, a program designed for researching global blockchain regulations as well as industry development.

Tags
Blockchain
Japan
Universities
Related Posts
MicroStrategy's bottom line gets beefier on Bitcoin moves: Bad crypto news of the week
It’s been another strong week for Bitcoin. The dollar price is up about 2.5 percent over the week, although that’s still something of a decline from its recent high above $13,400. At one point, Bitcoin fell 4 percent in 24 hours. But bulls remain optimistic and see the price advancing towards $20,000, possibly as early as March. That future price movement will depend on a number of factors, including whether banks follow Paypal into cryptocurrency acceptance; the size of the stimulus expected to counter the new coronavirus outbreak; and the pattern of the hash rate, among other factors. One point …
Blockchain / Oct. 31, 2020
Blockchain-based agri-commodity trading to tap world’s largest wheat market
Following two years of pilot testing, a blockchain trade and financing platform for global agricultural trading has seen its commercial rollout from Swiss developer Cerealia SA. The launch follows extensive prelaunch trial implementation with firms from Algeria, Brazil, Dubai, Japan and Ukraine. In November 2018, Cointelegraph reported on the platform’s early use to conduct a pilot transaction of Black Sea wheat from the Russian port city of Novorossiysk. Cerealia told reporters that it has sought to address the need for a fast trading platform in the global Russian wheat market and to combine this with a more reliable, transparent and …
Blockchain / Nov. 10, 2020
Liquid Exchange Confirms Asset Delistings Due to Regulatory Requirements
Japanese exchange Liquid recently unveiled a mass asset removal from its platform, which COO Seth Melamed claimed necessary for legal compliance. “Liquid works closely with regulators in Japan and Singapore,” Melamed told Cointelegraph on July 25. Referring to Anti-Money Laundering, or AML, and Combating the Financing of Terrorism, or CFT, regulations, he added: “As part of risk management we have to take a conservative approach regarding maintaining listings in tokens that are potentially viewed by regulators as in conflict with rules around AML and CFT and the Funds Travel Rule.” Liquid provided a public statement The exchange’s asset removal list …
Blockchain / July 25, 2020
Established Cosplay Platform Turns to Blockchain to Tackle Harassment and Copyright Issues
A company that bills itself as the “world’s largest cosplay platform” is turning to blockchain to help the industry develop a sustainable economy — tackling issues such as harassment and copyright in the process. Cure WorldCosplay is an international community with more than 720,000 members in 180 countries. Available in 12 languages, the company says it offers a platform for talented cosplayers, photographers and prop makers to showcase their work. More than 6.5 million images have been shared on its service to date, and in excess of 430,000 people follow the platform’s official social media accounts. In its white paper, …
Blockchain / July 10, 2018
Japan’s Bitbank to set up a custody firm to facilitate institutional entry to local markets
In a new development for East Asia, Japanese crypto exchange Bitbank announced a partnership with financial holding company Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings to establish Japan Digital Asset Trust (JADAT). According to an announcement sent to Cointelegraph on Tuesday, JADAT will offer custodial services and auditing and wallet insurance. The company is designed to facilitate the entrance of institutional players into the Japanese digital asset market. Once established, the firm will specialize in custody services for digital asset holdings, including cryptocurrency, security tokens on public blockchains, stablecoins and nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Bitbank is one of the largest crypto exchanges in Asia, …
Adoption / May 24, 2022