Ripple Partners With 17 International Universities In New $50 Million Blockchain Research Initiative

Ripple announced the launch of a new University Blockchain Research Initiative that will see Ripple Labs donate $50 million across 17 universities worldwide to promote academic research and blockchain innovation.

The new Ripple University Blockchain Research Initiative will provide 17 different universities with multi-million dollar funding over several years in order to promote cutting-edge research into the blockchain sector.

"Academia has traditionally been a critical driver of technical innovation. The University Blockchain Research Initiative is an acknowledgment of the vital importance of the unique role universities will play in advancing our understanding and application of cryptography and blockchain technology. It also speaks to the reality that university graduates will fuel a continually evolving and maturing financial marketplace and workforce".

Providing the next generation of blockchain innovators with enterprise-level resources and support will place Ripple in a position to capitalize on the future of the crypto job market which, according to KPMG, grew by 11% last year.

With over 4,500 crypto or blockchain related jobs posted via professional networking site LinkedIn this year alone, the blockchain industry is experiencing massive 151% surge in growth.

Some of the universities partnering with Ripple in the research initiative already have a significant presence within the blockchain sector.

The Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University boasts a dedicated research unit targeted toward cryptocurrencies and IoT devices, while the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology is currently applying blockchain technology to self-driving vehicles and speech recognition technology.

The initiative will also partner Ripple with University College London, one of the world's top universities.

"To improve technology literacy and drive the adoption and integration of blockchain into a range of business processes, we are dedicated to groundbreaking scientific research and teaching in this field and we are delighted to have Ripple supporting our endeavours over the next four years".

"Much of the enthusiasm and activity to date around blockchain is disconnected from real use cases that result in clear customer benefits. While Ripple won't dictate research parameters, we are excited to play a role in helping to support projects that explore increasingly useful applications of blockchain and cryptocurrencies."