Ripple and UC Berkeley Launch UDAX to Accelerate Institutional Adoption of XRPL

Ripple has taken another major step toward expanding institutional adoption of blockchain technology by partnering with the University of California, Berkeley to launch a new academic-focused accelerator on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). The initiative, known as the Digital Asset Xcelerator (UDAX), was developed under Ripple’s long-running University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) and aims to support early-stage founders building on XRPL through technical guidance and access to capital networks.

According to a recent press release, UDAX officially launched after the successful completion of a six-week pilot program hosted at UC Berkeley. The accelerator is the result of close collaboration between Ripple’s engineering teams and Berkeley’s faculty, researchers, and startup founders. Its core objective is to bridge the gap between academic blockchain research and real-world market deployment, particularly for institutional-grade use cases on the XRP Ledger.

During the pilot phase, nine startups participated in the program, working on projects designed for live market applications. Ripple kicked off the initiative with a summit at UC Berkeley, where founders received in-depth exposure to the XRPL ecosystem, its infrastructure, and its growing range of financial use cases. Several participants have already reported tangible benefits. CRX Digital Assets, for example, increased its tokenized asset volume from $39 million to $58 million after leveraging connections made through the accelerator. Meanwhile, Blockroll capitalized on growing RLUSD momentum to introduce stablecoin-backed virtual cards tailored for African freelancers, enhancing cross-border payment efficiency.

Blockroll CEO Sadiq Isiaka noted that integrating institutionally accepted stablecoins helps streamline remittance settlements from the United States to Sub-Saharan Africa, while also opening access to wealth-building tools such as stablecoin yields and tokenized U.S. equities.

The UDAX launch comes as Ripple continues to roll out significant XRPL upgrades aimed at improving network stability and scalability for institutional users. Adoption of the ledger remains strong, with new applications emerging across payments, tokenization, and decentralized finance. Industry leaders have also highlighted upcoming innovations, including batch transactions, which could further enhance developer efficiency and expand XRPL’s appeal to established financial applications.