Ripple partners with UC Berkeley to launch the Center for Digital Assets

UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering has launched the Center for Digital Assets (CDA), a new research hub for advancing blockchain and digital twin technologies. Ripple Labs’s University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) has provided about $1.3 million in Ripple USD (RLUSD), the company’s US dollar-backed stablecoin, to fund the initiative.

According to a statement shared by Ripple on Friday, the stablecoin issuer is “proud to partner with UC Berkeley on the launch of its new Center for Digital Assets.” The partnership builds on years of innovation through UBRI, which began supporting UC Berkeley programs in 2018.

Digital asset demand necessitates UC Berkeley blockchain study

A 2025 report from the International Data Corporation (IDC) projects that worldwide data will reach 175 zettabytes, with some estimates placing the figure closer to 181 zettabytes. One zettabyte is equivalent to one trillion gigabytes, or about 250 billion DVDs.

UC Berkeley’s new center will focus on developing trusted methods for defining and measuring the value of digital assets, a step that researchers say is imperative for the development of future economic systems.

“Digital content has been part of our human experience and economic systems for decades. The overall mission of the center is to foster pioneering research, education, innovation and entrepreneurship within the broader digital asset technology landscape,” said Tarek Zohdi, associate dean for research at Berkeley Engineering and the center’s faculty director.

The Center for Digital Assets will bring together UC Berkeley faculty, academic affiliates, and Ripple engineers and researchers to collaborate on advanced, open-source technologies. 

Joint projects will target pertinent areas of importance in blockchain and digital finance, built upon a seven-year partnership between UC Berkeley and Ripple’s UBRI. 

Ripple Labs suggested that UBRI has provided funding and resources for academic research since 2018, for studies in technical development, student engagement in blockchain, crypto, and digital payment technologies.

Ripple kickstarts new accelerator for startups

Alongside the creation of the center, Ripple and the CDA are partnering on a new program called the Berkeley Digital Asset Accelerator (BDAX). The project will support growth-stage startups in the XRPL public blockchain ecosystem.

Forty-six teams have already applied for the first 10 spots in the pilot cohort, which launches in October. The initial program will focus on startups innovating within the XRPL blockchain, but future cohorts could include ventures working with digital twin technologies. It would also connect physical and digital systems in engineering, supply chains, and finance.

According to UC Berkeley, the $1.3 million in RLUSD funding will be used to support three primary areas of the new center’s work. The first pillar, Collaborative Research and Pilots, will use UC Berkeley’s research facilities and faculty expertise to innovate digital technologies. 

Academic and Talent Development will double down on educating students in digital asset and digital twin technologies, economics and new venture creation. They will gain hands-on experience with tools and applications issued by Ripple engineers in areas like computer science, finance, and entrepreneurship.

The last pillar, Ecosystem Growth and Global Impact, will expand academic, industry, and student communities and digital research to create sustainable blockchain ecosystems.

UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons praised the initiative, saying it is the type of transformative collaboration that leads to major breakthroughs in financial technology. 

“I’m thrilled about this exciting addition to our university’s partnership with Ripple,” Lyons continued, “The new Center for Digital Assets is a fantastic example of the game-changing discoveries such collaborations foster. There is no better place than Berkeley to incubate and launch innovations that expand our concept of what’s possible.”

Elsewhere, Ripple minted 1.8 million RLUSD tokens on the XRP Ledger at the start of October, marking its first issuance on the network since September 24. The latest mint follows a separate RLUSD issuance on Ethereum of around 8 million tokens that took place on September 27.

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