- •Ripple and UC Berkeley team up for cutting-edge digital asset research.
- •Blockchain and digital twins set to revolutionize industries, including agriculture.
- •Ripple’s investment supports startups, accelerating blockchain innovation through Berkeley’s accelerator.
UC Berkeley’s College of Engineering has launched a new partnership with Ripple to create the Center for Digital Assets (CDA), a research hub dedicated to advancing blockchain and digital twin technologies.
The center, backed by $1.3 million in Ripple USD (RLUSD), will focus on transforming how physical assets are captured, valued, and exchanged within the digital economy. This collaboration is part of Ripple’s ongoing University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI), which has supported blockchain innovation at UC Berkeley since 2018.
The CDA’s primary mission is to leverage blockchain technology and digital twins—digital replicas of physical objects—to explore new ways of managing and trading assets. These innovations could have broad applications across various sectors, such as manufacturing, agriculture, and finance.
Digital twins, for instance, could enable consumers to virtually interact with products before purchasing, offering new possibilities for transparency in pricing and inventory management. In agriculture, digital representations of crops could assist farmers in securing credit by providing more accurate data to financial institutions.
We’re proud to partner with @UCBerkeley on the launch of its new Center for Digital Assets: https://t.co/l3MISAkXqO
From classrooms to real‑world impact, this builds on years of innovation through our University Blockchain Research Initiative.
Find out more about the…
— Ripple (October 2, 2025)
Ripple and UC Berkeley’s Game‑Changing Partnership for Digital Asset Research
At the heart of this initiative is a collaboration between UC Berkeley’s world‑class faculty and Ripple’s engineering team. This joint effort aims to develop open‑source technologies to advance blockchain and digital twin applications.
The CDA will also play a key role in academic development by providing students with hands‑on experience and access to cutting‑edge tools in blockchain, computer science, economics, and entrepreneurship.
In addition to research and education, Ripple’s support will extend to the Berkeley Digital Asset Accelerator (BDAX), which will assist growth‑stage startups within the XRPL blockchain ecosystem. The pilot program, set to launch in October, will focus on startups working with digital twin technologies, offering them critical resources and industry expertise.
Community Reactions Highlight Enthusiasm for the Partnership
The announcement of this partnership has generated widespread excitement within the blockchain community. A member of the community on X praised the continued collaboration between UC Berkeley and Ripple, stating, “great to see the continued collab with UCB, best university in the world for blockchain research and technical talent, and it’s not even close!”
Many professionals took to social media to celebrate the collaboration, recognizing UC Berkeley’s leadership in blockchain research. Ripple’s funding is seen as a significant investment in advancing blockchain and digital asset technologies.
The Ripple‑UC Berkeley partnership is viewed as a crucial step toward unlocking the potential of digital asset technologies and creating new opportunities for industries worldwide.