
Image: © ArtWiz/Stock.adobe.com
The $200,000 initiative will focus on advancing research into cryptocurrency, cybersecurity and fintech.
US crypto platform Ripple and the Adapt Research Ireland Centre at Trinity College Dublin have announced a new collaboration concerning blockchain research.
The Ripple Blockchain Collaboratory will focus on advancing research into blockchain, cryptocurrency, fintech and cybersecurity. It forms part of Ripple’s current University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) and will be supported by $200,000 in funding over two years.
Ripple’s announcement comes after it made its Ripple USD cryptocurrency available on global exchanges last month.
The new project will be led by Prof Hitesh Tewari of Trinity’s School of Computer Science and Statistics, and will engage both faculty and postgraduate students, in an effort to address the role of emerging technologies aimed at advancing the fintech sector.
The collaboration aims to advance projects such as a decentralised social media network (a platform designed to operate without central authority); post-quantum cryptography, which enhances security to resist future quantum computing threats; and zero knowledge proofs, a method for verifying data without revealing any underlying information.
Moreover, the Adapt Centre will manage an XPR Ledger (XPRL) validator, which acts as a decentralised blockchain ledger. XRPL validators assess transaction proposals from a specific set of validators called a Unique Node List (UNL), which in turn enhances a network’s security and decentralisation.
Lauren Weymouth, the senior director of university partnerships at Ripple, explained that by hosting an XRPL validator at Trinity, the two organisations will connect the university “to the heart of decentralised technology”, which will enable “groundbreaking work in areas like fintech, cybersecurity and next-generation blockchain solutions”.
Tewari said that Trinity is “delighted” to be the first university in Ireland to receive support through the UBRI programme.
“The Ripple Blockchain Collaboratory will provide a platform for advancing blockchain research, allowing our students and staff to research and develop solutions that address real-world challenges in fintech, cybersecurity and privacy,” Tewari asserted.
Back in 2022, Ripple announced its intention to seek a licence to operate in Ireland, as part of plans to expand in the European market.
Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.