Ripple Expands Footprint in Japan and Korea With New Fund

Ripple, the blockchain and crypto solutions provider, has shown its support for the development of the Japanese and Korean markets as it launches the XRPL Japan and Korea Fund. The new fund will also support various initiatives to foster innovation on the XRP ledger in both countries.  

Some of these initiatives include corporate partnerships, developer grants, startup investments and community growth. Ripple will collaborate with leading companies in Japan and Korea to integrate the use of the XRP Ledger and explore enterprise use cases across a range of industries. It will also provide funding along with technical and business support to promising projects being developed on the XRP Ledger.

Furthermore, it will identify and invest in early-stage companies leveraging the XRP Ledger to build new and exciting use cases. Lastly, it will support local events, hackathons and educational programmes to engage and grow the local XRP Ledger communities.

The XRPL Japan and Korea Fund is part of Ripple’s one billion XRP commitment to provide financial, technical, and business support for developers building on the XRP Ledger – through both the XRPL Grants and XRPL Accelerator programmes. A significant portion of the one billion XRP will be targeted towards exciting opportunities specifically in Japan and Korea amounting to tens of millions of dollars over time.

“The launch of this fund is a testament to Ripple’s strong belief in the potential of Japan and Korea as pivotal regional hubs for blockchain innovation,” said Emi Yoshikawa, vice president of strategic initiatives at Ripple. “It also underscores our unwavering commitment to fostering innovation in the local XRP Ledger communities, and we look forward to seeing the transformative impact of this fund in these vibrant markets.”

Building on vibrant environments

Japan and Korea are already home to some of the most vibrant and rapidly growing XRP ledger communities globally, underpinned by strong institutional partnerships, progressive and proactive regulatory frameworks, and a growing number of innovative startups in the blockchain industry.

Over the years, Ripple has made significant strides with several established partnerships in Japan and Korea. In 2016, Ripple partnered with SBI Holdings to establish SBI Ripple Asia, a joint venture which has been instrumental in promoting the adoption of Ripple Payments solutions in the region.

Earlier this year, Ripple also entered into a strategic partnership with HashKey DX, the Tokyo-based specialised consulting company of the HashKey Group, to introduce XRP Ledger-powered enterprise solutions to the Japanese market. At the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan next year, the XRP Ledger will be used for issuing official Expo NFTs for millions of attendees.

To further demonstrate Ripple’s commitment to these markets, key executives will be attending and speaking at major industry events in August and September, such as WebX Asia in Japan and Korea Blockchain Week.

Ripple will also be hosting community events in Seoul and Tokyo in early September, both of which will provide an opportunity for the local community and developers to learn more about the XRPL Japan and Korea Fund, and Ripple’s vision for supporting local projects building on the XRP Ledger.

XRPL grants

Announced in May 2024, Wave 7 of the XRPL Grants programme saw Japan- and Korea-based projects, VWBL and Moai Finance, being awarded funding to continue building and scaling on the XRP Ledger.

VWBL (Japan)

The ‘Viewable’ Protocol, VWBL, focuses on utilising NFTs to encapsulate encrypted data to authenticate real-world scenarios, such as medical exams. VWBL is an on-chain condition-based access control protocol and key management network that operates across multiple blockchains.

Its core features include enabling NFTs to securely carry encrypted external data, granting access to this data to users who meet specific conditions, and a decentralised and trustless architecture.

Moai Finance (Korea)

Moai Finance is developing a multi-chain decentralised exchange (DEX) and cross-chain DEX aggregator to improve asset liquidity and utility within the XRP Ledger (XRPL) community. Their flagship product is an automated market maker (AMM)-based decentralised protocol that enables seamless swapping between assets on different blockchains. Moai Finance seeks to expand its product to support XRPL Mainnet and XRPL EVM sidechain to simplify the liquidity provision and asset swap mechanisms for users.