Ripple, a blockchain company, has introduced a fund for Japan and South Korea with the aim of fostering innovation on the XRP Ledger while broadening its influence in the Asia-Pacific region.

XRP serves as Ripple’s native token that operates on the XRP Ledger, a public blockchain designed for corporate usage. Ripple utilizes blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies to enable instant, cross-border transactions.

The resources will be allocated towards backing corporate collaborations, providing grants to developers, investing in startups, and nurturing community expansion, as stated by Ripple on Tuesday. The XRPL Japan and Korea Fund is part of Ripple’s pledge of 1 billion XRP to extend financial, technical, and business aid to developers, which was revealed in March 2022.

“The launch of this fund underscores Ripple’s firm conviction in the promise of Japan and South Korea as crucial regional centers for blockchain innovations,” remarked Emi Yoshikawa, vice president of strategic initiatives at Ripple, according to the announcement.

This expansion occurs amidst challenges from stringent regulatory policies within the United States, as disclosed by Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse earlier this month.

Ripple indicated last year that Asia-Pacific represents “one of its most rapidly expanding regions” and that it will prioritize this region for the adoption of its cryptocurrency payment solutions.

In April, Ripple partnered with HashKey DX based in Tokyo to introduce XRPL-powered finance solutions for the supply chain sector to the Japanese market. Additionally, in 2016, it established SBI Ripple Asia, a collaboration with the Japanese financial services firm SBI Holdings, to promote the uptake of Ripple payment solutions in the region.

Ripple disclosed that the XRP Ledger will be utilized for creating official Expo NFTs for millions of visitors at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. Non-fungible tokens are distinctive virtual assets like artworks, audio files, or videos that are stored and validated using blockchain technology.

In October, Ripple obtained a complete license to operate in Singapore after establishing the city-state as its primary base in the Asia-Pacific region back in 2017.

In April, Ripple announced its intention to launch a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, with President Monica Long expressing that this initiative would most likely materialize within the current year.

By December 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had dropped allegations against Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen in their lawsuit accusing Ripple of infringing laws by vending XRP without initially registering the token with the SEC.