Ripple and the University of California, Berkeley jointly unveiled a new accelerator program to help developers turn early-stage blockchain ideas into deployable products in the marketplace. XRP General ledger.
According to the stablecoin issuer’s press statement released on Friday, Ripple University’s Blockchain Research Initiative is launching a University Digital Asset Xcelerator (UDAX) that promises to provide founders with hands-on technical support, direct mentorship and access to capital networks.
Ripple is adding its academic footprint through UBRI, the multi-year program based at UC Berkeley that has contributed to blockchain research and talent.
UDAX debuts after a six-week pilot cohort in Berkeley
According to Ripple, the first iteration of UDAX launched hosted as a pilot cohort at UC Berkeley in the fall of 2025. The program was the result of a collaboration between Ripple engineers and a multidisciplinary group of Berkeley faculty and lecturers.
During six intensive weeks, nine startups worked together with mentors to develop their concepts into solutions for market introduction. The program began with a launch stop in Berkeley, where the founders were introduced to the XRP Ledger’s architecture and the Ripple ecosystem.
It all wrapped up with a closing summit and demo day at Ripple’s San Francisco headquarters, with words of encouragement from Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen and CTO emeritus David Schwartz, putting the startups front and center. XRP Ledger developers, Ripple executives and representatives from 13 venture capital firms.
One of the several startups involved in the program is WaveTip. This platform offers direct tips for Twitch streamers, who are making the transition to the XRP Ledger Mainnet during the accelerator and is now available via the Chrome Web Store.
X-Card, another startup that turns physical collectibles into liquid digital assets, raised more than $1.5 million in inventory during the six-week period. The team has also forged partnerships with merchant communities and thousands of collectors, according to program disclosures.
UDAX helped BlockBima, which develops automated climate risk microinsurance products for vulnerable communities, triple its active user base. The teams worked with mentors, including Andrea Barrica, to sharpen their pitches enough to appeal to investors.
Ripple reported that participating teams achieved an average 67% increase in product maturity and an average 92% increase in fundraising confidence after the program.
Additionally, the accelerator also supported institutional financing and cross-border capital flow projects such as CRX Digital Assets, which used UDAX to export Brazilian credit products and increased tokenized asset volume from $39 million to $58 million.
Stablecoin-based financial services Blockroll launched stablecoin-backed virtual cards for African freelancers in global markets.
“Blockroll will use RLUSD as the institutionally accepted stablecoins to streamline remittances from Sub-Saharan Africa’s main source and enable financial access use cases such as stablecoin-backed debit cards that work globally.” Blackroll CEO Sadiq Isiaka commented. “This also unlocks world-class wealth building opportunities for African users, including stablecoin returns and tokenized US equities.”
Other teams tackled infrastructure and compliance challenges. WellArrive refined its platform into a two-sided market model after working with legal and business mentors. Spout completed a complex equity tokenization model and secured meetings with venture capital firms, while Mintara Labs worked to validate its go-to-market strategy for crypto bancassurance.
The collaboration between UC Berkeley and Ripple is growing
California University, Berkeley’s College of Engineering announced last October the launch of a new Center for Digital Assets in partnership with Ripple Labs, Cryptopolitan reported. At the time, UCB stated that the research center would be used to study how blockchain and digital twin technologies can capture, value, verify and exchange physical assets in digital form.
Ripple’s University Blockchain Research Initiative contributed $1.3 million to Ripple USD, the company’s US dollar-backed stablecoin. A 2025 report from the International Data Corporation estimates that global data volumes will reach 175 zettabytes, with some projections citing 181 zettabytes.
“Digital content has been part of our human experience and economic systems for decades,” said Tarek Zohdi, associate dean for research at Berkeley Engineering and faculty director of the center. “The overall mission of the center is to promote cutting-edge research, education, innovation and entrepreneurship within the broader digital asset technology landscape.”
UCB engineers are also studying the ‘twinning’ of physical assets, creating replicas that can be analyzed, tested and assigned current and future value to be traded on-chain.