The University of Toronto, the largest university in Canada by enrollment, is taking a step forward in the crypto industry by launching an independent XRP ledger validator in a new partnership with Ripple. This move is part of Ripple’s University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) in Canada, which has already invested more than $2 million in the country’s top universities and colleges over five years.
This newest UBRI partnership helps to grow a program that is already supporting important blockchain and crypto technology research in Canada while providing students with opportunities to acquire technical skills for a crypto-native career, said a statement from Ripple. The University of Toronto joins current Canadian UBRI partners, University of Waterloo and Toronto Metropolitan University.
Ripple launched UBRI in June 2018, committing over $50 million to the effort and partnering with 17 universities from across the world. Since then, it has distributed more than $47 million to its global university partners and increased its commitment to $80 million this year.
Eric van Miltenburg, SVP of strategic initiatives at Ripple, said, “As more crypto projects and companies look to build outside of the U.S., creating evergreen educational opportunities and growing a pipeline of talent to achieve widespread adoption is critical to our industry’s long-term success. Canada, and Toronto in particular, is home to some of the most prestigious business and technical schools in the world and has become a global technology hub. Ripple continues to expand its presence in the region to support the next generation of crypto, blockchain and Web3 leaders through strategic partnerships and funding for these universities.”