DEV Community: Julia Heitner

Unleashing the Power of AI on the XRP Ledger

Julia Heitner — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 15:11:01 +0000

XRPL Grants, a program dedicated to fostering innovation on the XRP Ledger, is thrilled to announce the launch of a brand new funding track specifically designed for Artificial Intelligence (AI) projects utilizing technologies such as large language models (LLMs) and other applications of generative AI (GenAI) technology for building on the XRP Ledger. This groundbreaking initiative aims to empower developers and entrepreneurs to explore the exciting potential of AI within the XRP Ledger ecosystem.

The XRPL Grants Program funds software development projects and ventures that leverage the open source XRP Ledger and help grow the community. Funding opportunities range from $10,000 - $200,000 for project timelines up to one year in duration.

Unlocking New Possibilities with AI

The XRPL Grants AI Fund offers a unique opportunity for developers and entrepreneurs to explore a wide range of AI applications within the XRP Ledger landscape.

In addition to the global rolling application and Brazil Fund, this AI Fund seeks to fuel the development of next-generation solutions that leverage the power of AI on the XRP Ledger.

The XRPL Grants AI Fund Application opens on a rolling basis beginning on September 24, 2024, with a live Info Session and Q&A hosted on October 2, 2024 at 11am PT.

Some potential areas of focus could include:

AI-Driven optimization: exploration of AI algorithms to optimize XRP Ledger consensus mechanisms, transaction processing, or network topology for improved performance and scalability.
Predictive analytics: development of AI models to forecast network congestion, security threats, or market trends based on XRP Ledger data.
Anomaly detection: utilization of AI to identify unusual transaction patterns or network behavior that may indicate fraudulent activity or system anomalies.
AI-Powered risk assessment: creation of AI models to evaluate creditworthiness, collateralization, and market risks for DeFi applications.
Algorithmic trading: development of AI-driven trading strategies optimized for the XRP Ledger ecosystem.
AI personalized financial services: exploration of AI-powered tools for delivering tailored financial products and services to XRP Ledger users.

XRPL Grants has previously supported AI projects on the XRP Ledger including:

AnChain.AI offers AI-powered intelligence enhancing blockchain security, risk, and compliance strategies. Anchain.ai has been funded for two projects through XRPL Grants: CISO™(Compliance Investigation Security Operation) integration for the XRP Ledger and BEI API which provides an AI/ML (machine learning) based risk engine via API, allowing developers to integrate best-practice risk management and suspicious activity reporting into their XRP Ledger projects.
ChatXRP transforms XRP Ledger interactions, providing seamless access to web3 services through a simple interface. Integrated with the XRP Ledger and third party applications, this AI-powered chat app utilizes the ledger and extended APIs for real-time data.

How Do I Get Started?

Visit the XRPL Grants website to learn more about the application process, explore the previous projects we’ve funded, and get inspired by previous grant recipients. Don't miss this opportunity to be a part of the future of AI and blockchain! We can't wait to see your groundbreaking ideas come to life.

Am I qualified to apply for XRPL Grants?

To apply and receive funding from XRPL Grants, all members of the team must meet basic eligibility requirements. The complete list of eligibility details and project terms are available for review at: https://xrplgrants.org/terms.

When evaluating applications, judges take a detailed and holistic look at the project to determine whether it has:

A strong founding team with technical experience to execute the project
A viable business use case that solves a problem or need in the industry
A product with strong market opportunity
Alignment with the capabilities of the XRPL

All projects should be able to provide/prove the following in their application:

Proof of Concept or MVP
Proof of Code and/or Code Architecture and a technical integration plan with the XRPL ( i.e GitHub Repository and/or system design diagram)
2-min Project Demo
Product Roadmap & Milestones for up to 12 months
Plan for Monetization / Financial Sustainability
Project Traction & Growth Metrics

In addition to the general application materials for Rolling Applications. AI applicants will be asked to submit documentation and materials related to their AI Model. AI Specific materials/documentation may include:

AI Model System Diagrams
Testing and Validation Methods
Monitoring and Maintenance Plan
Security and Privacy Plan

Have questions?

Sign up for the upcoming XRPL Builder Office Hours, or check the XRPL.org Events page for both local and fully remote events.

Are you interested in learning more about the XRPL and getting involved in the community?

Explore the XRPL Developers Discord, the XRP Ledger Learning Portal, and the extensive documentation available on XRPL.org. You can also participate in XRPL Community Events and Hackathons to engage with like-minded individuals and stay abreast of the latest developments in the XRP Ledger ecosystem.

XRPL Grants Wave 7 Awardees Unveiled

Julia Heitner — Tue, 21 May 2024 12:19:05 +0000

The XRPL Grants program is thrilled to reveal the recipients of the Wave 7 awards, where innovation meets excellence. After rigorous evaluation by the judging committee, seven outstanding projects have been selected to receive funding and support.

The influx of applications to the Wave 7 cohort was impressive, with 132 submissions from across the globe. After a comprehensive review process, seven outstanding projects from seven countries and four continents, resulting in a total funding amount of more than $700,000.

These awardees cover an array of financial use cases, underlining the diverse applications of the XRP Ledger in the realm of decentralized finance (DeFi), payments, real world asset (RWA) tokenization, NFTs and authentication.

Judging Process Overview
Throughout the evaluation process, the judging committee meticulously assessed each project against a rigorous framework:

Code Review: Ensuring clarity, sufficiency, and originality of the project’s codebase.
Project Goals and Timelines: Assessing clarity and thoughtfulness in defining project objectives and timelines.
Use Cases: Validating relevance and sustainability of building the project on the XRP Ledger.
Team Expertise: Identifying expert developers capable of executing the project confidently.
Sustainability: Evaluating the team’s long-term plan for project maintenance.
Legal and Regulatory Considerations: Addressing the potential legal or regulatory considerations associated with the project.

The projects chosen not only excelled in the abovementioned criteria but also exemplified the spirit of creativity, technical prowess, and real-world applicability that the Grants program is aiming to foster within the XRP Ledger ecosystem:

Bitbob: BitBob is an iOS application designed to simplify bill splitting and payment requests for users worldwide. Bitbob will be made available at launch in 110 languages with support for multiple fiat currencies. Empowered by integration with the XRP Ledger and Flare Network for decentralized price feeds, BitBob ensures a seamless payment experience for all users. A key differentiator for BitBob is that users can interact with the XRP Ledger (XRPL) through WhatsApp's known and trusted interface, prompting and receiving payments and capturing and verifying the XRPL in real-time.

Breezepay: Breezepay integrates with both online stores and Point-of-Sale systems, allowing users to seamlessly pay for goods and services with their cryptocurrency at the click of a button. Using the XRP Ledger, customers can unlock the value of their XRP-based assets by simply connecting their wallet to Breezepay and paying for everyday goods, similar to a card transaction.

Kodelab: The Kodelab HELOC offers instant access to flexible credit/liquidity secured against properties or other illiquid assets via public and private blockchains, in the form of CBDC or stablecoin. Users can draw down and repay funds up to a certain Loan-to-Value (LTV), empowering and providing users with flexible credit options. The accompanying tokenization stack, formed from some ‘world-first’ legal engineering developed in conjunction with DLA Piper and Truva Corp, allows for the on-chain (NFT) collateral to be composed of actual property ownership rights or mortgage rights, boosting security for lenders, whilst borrowers are left with simplified and enhanced accessibility to revolving credit compared to traditional fixed-term loans.

Moai Finance: Moai Finance is developing a multi-chain decentralized exchange (DEX) and cross-chain DEX aggregator to improve asset liquidity and utility within the XRP Ledger (XRPL) ecosystem. Their flagship product is an automated market maker (AMM)-based decentralized protocol that enables seamless swapping between assets on different blockchains. They want to expand their product to support XRPL Mainnet and XRPL EVM sidechain to simplify the liquidity provision and asset swap mechanisms for users.

Propto: Propto, a decentralized exchange and tokenization platform, enables commercial property owners to fractionalize and list their assets on-chain. The product allows investors with a small amount of capital to participate in the commercial real estate market. Propto's tokenization and trading functionalities utilize the XRPL's native features, such as trustlines and the DEX, to facilitate real estate token transactions.

Tender Merchant: Tender Merchant is a point-of-sale terminal that allows merchants to accept digital asset payments easily, effectively, and safely. Tender Merchant is utilizing the XRPL to accept payments in XRP, issue points on the Loyalty app, and aid movement of funds by merchants. By integrating with the XRPL, customers gain the convenience of purchasing goods and services using XRP at any Tender-enabled store, further enhancing the adoption and utility of digital assets in everyday transactions.

VWBL: The 'Viewable' Protocol, VWBL, focuses on utilizing NFTs to encapsulate encrypted data to authenticate real-world scenarios, such as medical exams. VWBL is an on-chain condition-based access control protocol and key management network that operates across multiple blockchains. Its core features include enabling NFTs to securely carry encrypted external data, granting access to this data to users who meet specific conditions, and a decentralized and trustless architecture.

Begin Your Journey on the XRP Ledger
The XRPL Grants Wave 7 awardees represent the forefront of innovation within the XRPL ecosystem. We extend our congratulations to each project team and look forward to forthcoming applications for XRPL Grants which are now open. Projects will be reviewed and awarded on a rolling basis. Apply now via the XRPL Grants website, and subscribe to the XRPL Newsletter to receive the very latest updates!

Stay tuned for updates on these groundbreaking projects as they embark on their journey to redefine possibilities within the XRPL community. For more information about XRPL Grants and future opportunities, visit xrplgrants.org.

Let's continue to drive innovation, collaboration, and progress within the XRPL ecosystem together!

Introducing Ripple's Brazil Fund: Fostering XRP Ledger Innovation in Brazil

Julia Heitner — Wed, 15 May 2024 12:11:50 +0000

In the dynamic landscape of Brazil lies fertile ground for innovation, where startups continue to thrive and pioneering ideas take root. It is within this vibrant community that Ripple proudly unveils its local support strategy, a dedicated initiative aimed at fostering innovation on the XRP Ledger within Brazil.

The Brazilian government has already begun to demonstrate a keen interest in the transformative potential of blockchain technology through initiatives like the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB)’s Regulatory Sandbox. Building on this momentum, the XRPL Grants Program has actively begun supporting two pioneering projects originating within Brazil.

Ripple is proud to support teams building Web3 projects in Brazil on the XRP Ledger. Thanks to the country’s advanced developer ecosystem, sophisticated digital payments infrastructure and forward-thinking public policy regarding the tokenization of capital markets, Brazil is the first country that Ripple has chosen to implement its local support strategy in.

By working closely with partners on the ground, we have identified blockchain startups who have effectively found product-market fit and are ready to scale with the support of the XRPL Grants Brazil Pilot Program. By showcasing these promising companies, we intend to help accelerate the growing XRPL developer ecosystem in Brazil.

The XRPL Grants program is dedicated to providing expanded support to Brazil based-projects through a Brazil-specific community fund to help empower Brazilian startups to develop solutions that leverage the XRPL and EVM Sidechain.

Are you a Brazil-based software developer or entrepreneur seeking to leverage blockchain technology? Join us as we chart a course towards a future where innovation knows no bounds and the XRP Ledger serves as the cornerstone of a more inclusive and equitable financial landscape. We encourage you to submit an application on the XRPL Grants website for consideration utilizing the Brazil Application form. (The global Rolling Application form is also open and available to those outside of Brazil.)

XRPL Grants’ recently awarded grants to two innovative Brazil-based projects to continue building on the XRP Ledger

goAssets: goBlockchain has created an elegant and compliant white-label product for tokenizing real-world assets.
Cointimes: Cointimes has built an innovative x-to-earn browser plug-in that sends users blockchain-based micropayments in exchange for ad views, product demos, and purchases.

The XRPL Grants Program has also previously funded other projects in Brazil, with these projects highlighting the XRPL Grant Program’s commitment to developing the Web3 ecosystem in Brazil. These projects include:

Amora: Amora is a Shopify App that will allow merchants to mint XLS-20 NFTs on the XRPL, associate those NFTs to token-gated campaigns, and reward customers.
Cryptum: Cryptum is an API/SDK platform for integrating the XRPL with any application.
ThingsGo.Online: ThingsGo.Online is a pioneering platform that encourages, rewards, and enhances access to sustainable actions and projects. It measures, reports, and validates sustainable actions using IoT devices and blockchain technology, ensuring transparency and trust. Its unique circular economy model utilizes tokens that can be exchanged for benefits or other assets.
XRPL Elixir: An Elixir-based RPC library (XRPC) that allows Elixir developers to easily integrate with XRPL blockchain HTTP APIs.

These are just a few examples of how the XRPL Grants Program isfostering innovation in Brazil. By empowering these startups, the XRPL Grants Program is helping to support companies focused on developing a more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable financial future for the entire country.

The XRPL Grants’ new and improved application process has truly helped to accelerate the process of providing grants to promising projects developing within the XRP Ledger space and beyond. This new process can be seen on the XRPL Grants’ website, with dedicated personnel standing by to answer any questions you may have or to guide you through an application.

Build the Future of Finance with the all new XRPL Grants Rolling Applications Process!

Julia Heitner — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 16:39:32 +0000

Are you a developer or entrepreneur harboring a brilliant idea to transform the digital landscape? Do you want to leverage the power of a fast, secure, and sustainable blockchain like the XRP Ledger (XRPL)? Then look no further than the XRP Ledger Grants Program!

The XRPL Grants Program funds software development projects, and ventures that leverage the open-source XRP Ledger (XRPL) and help grow and benefit the XRPL community. Funding opportunities range from $10,000 - $200,000 for project timelines up to one year in duration.

What’s changing about the XRPL Grants program?

The newly revamped application process aims to speed up the review process and response time and provide greater flexibility to applicants seeking funding for their projects.

Introducing Rolling Applications:

XRPL Grants is moving from a set application timeframe to a “rolling application” structure. This means your team no longer has to submit your application during a set window; and can apply at any time in 2024.

Four-Stage Review Process:

Projects will begin by submitting a simplified interest form and receive updates at each stage in the process within 2-4 weeks.

Eligibility and Interest Form: The Eligibility and Interest form will help determine if your project is eligible to receive funding from XRPL Grants, and if eligible, you will be invited to complete a full expanded application form.
Full Application: Here, potential projects will provide more in-depth project details to ensure the best fit with the XRPL Grants program, with a deep-dive into the team as well as the existing project prototype (and code). At this stage projects will go through a full judging and technical review process.
Finalist Interviews: Top applicants will be invited to participate in a 45-min finalist interview to further present and pitch their projects and receive feedback from members of the panel of experts, including judges with both a technical, product and business background.
Awarding: Awardees will be determined and notified following the interview phase. The XRPL Grants team will then meet with the teams to provide onboarding support for their award process.

Judging Panel:

The judging panel includes renowned subject matter experts in blockchain business development and business: CTOs, product managers, academics and researchers, and XRPL Community members, including past awardees. The judging committee can be viewed here. New judges for 2024 will be added and announced at a later date.

The XRP Ledger Grants program is an exciting way to help empower you to focus on development without financial constraints within a thriving space of buildings and developers. Previous awardees include Crossmark, a browser extension wallet built for interacting with the XRP Ledger, and Amora, a Shopify App that allows merchants to mint XLS-20 NFTs on the XRPL, associate those NFTs to token-gated campaigns, and reward customers. After all, who wouldn’t want to build on top of a blockchain ecosystem that offers unparalleled speed, security, and energy efficiency, for groundbreaking applications?

Who Should Apply?

We're looking for start-ups and developers interested in building across a wide range of areas, including:

Decentralized Finance (Defi)
Infrastructure/Security
Tokenization
Usability/Developer Tooling
Sustainability
Gaming

What Do I Need To Apply?

At a minimum, teams should have the following to apply:

Project Prototype
Proof of Project Code
Development Roadmap
Timeline of 3 to 12 Months
At least, one experienced software developer on the core project team

Disclaimer: The XRPL Grants program reserves the right to decline any project. Reports of harassment, doxing, etc., including targeting program members or judges, will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Please review the XRPL Grants Terms and Conditions and XRPL Contributor Code of Conduct for more information.

How Do I Get Started?

Head over to the XRP Ledger Grants website to learn more about the application process, explore the types of projects we fund, and get inspired by previous grant recipients. Don't miss this opportunity to be a part of the future of payments! We can't wait to see your groundbreaking ideas come to life.

Have questions?

Sign-up for a Live Info Session on April 23, 11am PT: Registration Link
Stay tuned for our XRPL Grants’ Wave 7 announcement coming soon!
To hear the latest about all things XRPL Grants-related and be notified when applications open, sign up for the XRPL Grants email list on the website.

Are you interested in learning more about the XRPL and getting involved in the community?

XRPL Grants - New Expert Judges Join with a Focus on Financial Inclusion and Emerging Markets

Julia Heitner — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 17:42:15 +0000

As XRPL Grants Wave 7 unfolds, we are excited to introduce our distinguished panel of judges, a blend of fresh faces and returning experts who will play a crucial role in evaluating the innovative projects that will shape the XRPL ecosystem. Our Wave 7 Judging Committee consists of 25 judges, covering a wide spectrum of expertise. View the full XRPL Grants Judging Committee roster.

New Judges: Welcoming Fresh Perspectives

Kenneth Kou, Head of Venture Lab, Mercy Corps Ventures
Ken Kou, leading the Mercy Corps Venture Lab, specializes in designing initiatives for underserved users in emerging markets to enhance financial and climate resilience. With a background spanning startups, international development, and management consulting across Southeast Asia and Africa, Kenneth brings expertise in financial inclusion, sustainability, DeFi ReFi, and emerging markets.

Laura Chioda, Director of Research for the Lab for Inclusive Fintech (LIFT) and the Institute for Business and Social Impact (IBSI), UC Berkeley
In collaboration with UC Berkeley faculty, Laura is responsible for formulating and developing research agendas for IBSI/LIFT’s strategic priorities, which include fintech and banking, sustainability, mental health, and diversity and inclusion. Laura holds a PhD in economics from UC Berkeley and was an assistant professor of economics at Princeton. Her research interests range from theoretical econometric issues of identification and machine learning to behavioral economics, youth and skill development, intra-household decisions and social networks. She also serves as principal investigator on several fintech and digital inclusion studies. Her work has been featured in the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, and other international press.

Returning Judges: A Wealth of Experience

Our returning external judges bring a wealth of experience, covering diverse areas of expertise. Their dedication and previous contributions have been instrumental in the success of XRPL Grants thus far.

Sanjay Bapna, MBA, PhD, Interim Associate Dean, Earl Graves School of Business and Management, Morgan State University
Jordan Cates, Developer Advocate, Anchain.AI
Scott Chamberlain, Entrepreneurial Fellow, Australian National University
Vivek Chauhan, Principal Product Manager, FalconX
Jasmine Cooper, Senior Product Manager, RippleX
Kenneth Chung, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Pennsylvania
Yebo Feng, Research Fellow, Nanyang Technological University
Carl Hua, Investment Partner & CTO, Shima Capital
Chris Jimison, CTO, Forte
Lukasz Kowalski, Lecturer, Industry Fellow, and Co-Director Blockchain X-Lab SCET, UC Berkeley
Ajit Kulkarni, Senior Product Manager, RippleX
Alejandro Laplana, CEO, Shokworks, Inc
Elliot Lee, Engineering Manager, RippleX
Aanchal Malhotra, Head of Research, RippleX
Andrew Mangle, Associate Professor, Bowie State University
Shashwat Mittal, Senior Product Manager, RippleX
Marco Neri, Senior Manager, Developer Advocate, RippleX
Peter Rosberg, CTO, Centigrade.earth
Mayukha Vadari, Senior Software Engineer, Interoperability, RippleX
Jiahua Xu, Ph.D., Programme Director MSc Emerging Digital Technologies, University College London
Bo Yang, Professor, Bowie State University
Max Zheng, Director of Investments, Blockchain Founders Group
Jan Zibelnik, Product Manager, Lossless

Judging Criteria: Ensuring Rigorous Evaluation

As we delve into the evaluation process, our judging committee will meticulously assess each project based on several criteria:

Code Review: The project’s code must be sufficient, clear and original, with a well-documented technical design.
Project Goals and Timelines: Clarity and thoughtfulness in defining project goals and timelines.
Use Case/Applicability: A clear and sensible use case for building the project on the XRPL.
Team Expertise: The presence of expert developers on the core team capable of executing the project efficiently.
Sustainability: The team’s plan for long-term project maintenance.
Legal and Regulatory Considerations: Identification and consideration of any relevant legal or regulatory aspects.

Disclaimer: The XRPL Grants program reserves the right to decline any project. Reports of harassment, doxing, etc., targeting members or judges of the program will not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Apply for XRPL Grants in 2024

Passionate developers and start-ups, seize the opportunity to be part of XRPL Grants! The next application will open in Spring 2024 Showcase your innovative ideas and contribution to the evolution of the XRPL ecosystem.

Stay tuned for updates and announcements as we progress through the application process. For more details, visit xrplgrants.org and sign up for our email list.

Let’s collaborate to drive innovation, foster collaboration, and propel progress within the XRPL community!

Celebrating Wave 6 Awardees of the XRPL Grants Program

Julia Heitner — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 16:15:21 +0000

We’re thrilled to share the awardees of XRPL Grants Wave 6, focusing on groundbreaking Web3 financial projects on the XRP Ledger (XRPL).

The response to the Wave 6 call for applications was remarkable, with 129 submissions from all over the world. After a comprehensive review process, we’re proud to support a total of 22 outstanding projects from 13 countries, resulting in a total funding amount of $1.3 million.

Each project was reviewed through a comprehensive judging process, and assessed by technical experts as well a global panel of judges from across academia, Web3, DeFi, Sustainability and other areas of expertise.

These awardees cover 14 distinct financial use cases, demonstrating the diverse applications of the XRP Ledger in the realm of decentralized finance, while 8 awardees mark an array of different innovative efforts that sees projects focusing on Developer Tooling, NFTs, Education, GameFi and Sustainability.

Learn more about the specific usecase below and explore the full roster of Wave 6 awardees on the XRPL Grants website.

Interested in applying for funding for XRPL Grants? The next wave of applications will open in 2024! Subscribe for the newsletter to receive the latest updates at xrplgrants.org.

DeFi Projects

DeXfi - The DeFi one-stop-shop
The ultimate DeFi one-stop-shop on the XRPL! Seamlessly trade, swap, provide liquidity on a single platform. DeXfi is led by an individual developer, Chris Winkler, who is based in Austria. He has received $50,000 in funding to help support the important progress has made so far. Learn about the project via their website.

EVM.Finance
EVM.Finance solves the issue of fragmentation, providing a single hub for balances, transactions, DeFi interfaces with token metrics, and provides a terminal to support orders into the XRPL and access all information needed for investors and traders.

The team is based in the US and are led by Alexander Barry, John Barry, Maks Zhakun. Find out more about the innovative open source project through Github.

FLUIDEFI InstiLink
By providing a user-friendly suite of tools, InstiLink bridges the gap between traditional institutions and the world of blockchain. The team are based in Canada and are led by Louis Sirico, Lisa Loud, Fabian Kroll.

They have received $100,000 in funding as they aim to move forward with their efforts toward institutional adoption. Learn more about the exciting project via their website.

REDIMI - XRP Passport
XRP Passport aims to build a decentralized digital identity solution that empowers individuals to control their own identities while streamlining identity verification processes for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications & services.

There is a broad team based in Germany that consists of: Pierre Taner Kirisci, Zohaib Shahzad, Asad Khalid, Aleks Boskovski, Nadine Kamal, Abdul Samad. The project has received $100,000 in funding and you can learn more about their aims to build a decentralized digital identity on the project website.

VNX Stablecoins on the XRPL
VNX Commodities is Europe's first regulated tokenization platform and stablecoin issuer. The project is headed up by Wazen Shbair, Eugene Gavrilov who are based in Luxembourg. The project has received $100,000 in funding and you can learn more about the progress made via the project website.

Wolfram XRPL Exchange Data Infrastructure
Wolfram Blockchain Labs’ (WBL) provides real-time data aggregation services from a wide range of CEXs and DEXs.

The broader team is based in the US and consists of: Steph Macurdy, Gabriela Guerra, Jon Woodard, Maksym Kotov, Daniel Suarez, Johan Veerman, Karla Santana, Piero Sanchez, Alec Macher. The project has received $50,000 in funding and you can learn more about the team’s progress on the project website.

AI Projects

ChatXRP
ChatXRP transforms XRPL interaction, providing seamless access to Web3 services through a simple interface. Lead team member Chris Kuehl, based in the US, saw his project receive $75,000 in support. You can learn more about the project via their X account.

Education

EpicTask
The EpicTask Web3 platform combines a financial education learning environment with a seamless and efficient payment system.

The is led by Randy Nolden and based in the US. They have received $10,000 for their important efforts to educate the broader community. Learn about the project via their website.

Sustainability

EUA Carbon Token
Tokenized EU Carbon Allowances that allow retail investors to participate in the huge EU regulatory carbon markets. XRPL will provide the underlying stability mechanisms to create a token and allow it to track the real-world price of carbon.

The team, who are based in the UK is led by Gulliver Smithers, David McKie and Thomas Barker. They have received $50,000 in funding and you can lean more about their aims via their website.

Meta-Carbon
Meta Carbon's emissions tokenization tools allow companies to measure their carbon footprint and immutably store it online allowing for comparison over time as to how it is performing against its commitments to decarbonize.

The team is based in the US and is led by Tom Herman, Mark David, Andy Steward. They have received $150,000 in funding to help realize their ambitious goals.

Developer Tooling Projects

Indicator Success Rate (ISR)
ISR is a RESTful API platform equipped with integrated XRPL wallets and XUMM authentication. It offers an array of cryptocurrency trading indicators, delivering invaluable insights to traders to augment their trading strategies.

The team is led by Mario Stumpo, Gilles Chemla, Ilaria Morelli who are based in Poland. They have received $10,000 in funding and you can learn more about their efforts on their website.

Quidli - Integration of the XRPL & CRP
Quidli is a social middle layer between web3 assets and Web 2.0 collaboration apps for users to build token reward flows directly into the apps they use to digitally collaborate, starting with Discord and Slack.

The team is led by Luke Vignal, Guillaume Figielski, Justin Ahn and is based in France. They have received $10,000 in funding and you can learn more about their efforts via the project website.

Social Impact

MedLedger
MedLedger, aims to create a groundbreaking platform that merges Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standards with the XRP Ledger's (XRPL) secure and efficient blockchain technology.

The project is headed by an individual developer, Tushar Pardhe, from India. Tushar has received a $10,000 grant as he continues his work. Learn about his open source project on Github.

Tugela
Tugela is the AI-powered talent liquidity pool connecting African freelancers to the global economy. Leveraging XRP Ledger (XRPL) technology and the Interledger Protocol (ILP), Tugela enables frictionless cross-border payments, a store of value, and a gig matching engine built with Generative AI.

The team is based in Ghana and consists of Jeremy Banning, Sally-Anne Amakye, Kwame Frimpong Darkwa, Frederick Ankamah, Thokozani Mabena, Maya Diana Danquah. The team has received $50,000 in funding and you can learn more about the open source project on their website.

GameFi & NFT Projects

Ap0cene Phygital NFTs
Ap0cene Phygital NFTs allow you to create Web3 enabled garments and accessories for the future of phygital fashion e-commerce.

The team consisting of Sam Walker, Ariel Arakas, Andrew Fenlon, Ryan Beck are based in the US and received $75,000 in funding. The project is indeed open source and you can learn a great deal more about it on Github.

XRPL AI Signals by Liisa
Liisa helps NFT investors by analyzing the multifaceted landscape of NFT projects, considering both quantitative and qualitative factors like on-chain transactions, social activity, and NFT utilities.

The team is based in Portugal and consists of: Bernardo Silva, Paulo Peixoto, Kerim Tümkaya, Alexandre Collignon, Guilherme Leitão. The project has received $25,000 in funding and you can learn more about the team’s progress on the project website.

Nexus - Unity Toolkit
Nexus is an open-source toolkit that connects the Unity Game Engine and the XRP Ledger. By providing seamless XRPL wallet logins, real-time NFT generation, NFToken reconstitution, and advanced in-game transaction systems, Nexus empowers developers to create immersive gaming experiences with integrated blockchain technology.

The team is based in the US and led by Lawrence Plante, Jake Burkhalter, Kyle LeMaster, Derek Blasko. The project has received $150,000 in funding and you can learn more about the open source project on Github.

The Shillverse
The Shillverse is a Play2Mint NFT game on the XRPL. It provides a mix of classic idle and passive gameplay features, and has a Unity game in development.

The project is led by an individual developer, Steve Dodd, who is based in Australia. Steve’s project has so far received $10,000 in funding and you can learn about his progress on the project website.

XRPL4GD
An open source XRPL plugin that will extend the capabilities of the Godot engine. Game developers will be empowered to easily integrate core XRPL features into their games across a selection of different wallets.

The team is led by Jackson Sardello, Hudson Craft, Andrew Laitinen and is based in the US. They have received $50,000 in funding and you can learn more about the open source project via Github.

UniversalNFT.dev
The team describes the project as ‘one universal XRPL NFT format to rule them all.’ Automatic read-only translation from any popular existing NFT format/standard into Universal NFT.

The project is led by Jacob Pretorius who is based in the UK. The project has received $50,000 in funding and you can learn more about what it is building via the project website.

Zerpmon
Zerpmon is an engaging creature collecting game that leverages XRPL-based NFTs and tokens to enrich gameplay, ownership, and rewards for players.

The team is based in Australia and is led by Shen Morincome, Daniel Byers, Chris Lindmark, Steven Huling, Abdul Moin Khan. The grant sees the project pick up $25,000 in funding and you can learn about their progress on the project website.

Other

XRP for Salesforce
XRP for Salesforce is an open source data mapping layer from the XRPL to Salesforce. In addition to the open source Salesforce project, it includes relevant configuration of related Webhooks and any relevant JavaScript code to support the integration between XRPL and XRP for Salesforce.

Based in the US, the team is led by Zoe Braiterman, Alex Hochberger, Patryk Ustymczuk, Michal Bedliński. The project has received $100,000 in funding as they aim to transform the landscape of E-commerce. Find out more about the project and team on their website.

Diverse Innovators

Among the projects we see a diverse range of leaders and innovators with four of the funded projects led by women or non-binary individuals. This highlights a commitment to fostering inclusivity, and diverse perspectives within the XRPL ecosystem.

The financial backing provided includes microgrant funding for seven projects in the lowest tier ($10,000 or below) and substantial funding exceeding $100,000 for six projects. Notably, 55% of the awardees are based outside of the US, emphasizing the global reach and impact of the XRPL community.

These awardee statistics underscore the XRPL Grants Program’s dedication to supporting projects that address financial inequities, streamline traditional financial processes, and introduce innovative use cases for the XRP Ledger.

XRPL Grants Wave 7: Igniting Innovation in DEX and Financial Inclusion

Julia Heitner — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 19:00:57 +0000

The launch of Wave 7 of XRPL Grants is here, inviting all innovators and builders within the XRP Ledger (XRPL) community to seize this opportunity to build on rock solid foundations. The latest Wave of the XRPL Grants program comes with an exciting call for proposals for projects that revolve around two dynamic themes: Decentralized Exchange (DEX) and Financial Inclusion.

Applications are open from August 31 - October 1, 2023, 11:59pm Pacific Time at xrplgrants.org.

As we embark on Wave 7 of XRPL Grants, we want to ensure that applicants utilize the tangible support on offer to build with confidence. XRPL Grants offers an important opportunity for innovators to shape the future of decentralized finance. With over a decade of proven performance and resolute community backing, we’re inviting applicants to build on rock solid foundations. Read on to learn about the details and opportunities that Wave 7 holds, and how you can be a part of this exciting journey.

XRPL Grants Wave 7 Themes

Wave 7 revolves around two transformative themes that align with the XRPL’s potential to reshape the financial landscape:

Decentralized Exchange (DEX)
Immerse yourself in the world of decentralized exchanges or DEXs, innovatively crafted on the XRPL. These exchanges facilitate direct, peer-to-peer trading, obliterating the need for intermediaries or centralized control to manage fund transfers and custody.

Prospective DEXs on the XRPL will take trading to new heights, seamlessly matching buy and sell orders with continuous efficiency. This approach not only extends accessibility to a wide array of digital assets but also empowers individuals with unprecedented control over their investments. The transparent and trustless nature of DEXs holds the promise of slashing costs and barriers, democratizing financial services, and fostering extensive participation in decentralized finance (DeFi).

The XRPL, with its high scalability and rapid transaction speeds, is primed for constructing a responsive and agile DEX. Furthermore, its distinctive consensus mechanism and canonical transaction order minimize risks related to front-running and MEV attacks.

The envisaged proposal of an automated market maker (AMM) protocol introduces substantial potential for amplifying the reach of a DEX on the XRPL. Trades on the XRPL will be automatically allocated through the existing central limit order book (CLOB) or the AMM, based on the most favorable pricing, effectively marrying the strengths of both technologies. XRPL Grants seeks projects that elevate the user experience for DEX traders and liquidity providers while addressing existing gaps within the XRPL DeFi ecosystem.

DEX Use Cases:

DEX liquidity management tools
Trading portfolio management apps
Continuous Auction mechanism tool
Governance tools
Yield platforms and aggregators
Cross-chain DEX aggregators
Cross-chain Liquidity Pool Aggregators/Platforms
Real world asset (RWA) inclusive DeFi apps
DeFi/Trading integrated wallets
Financial applications using core XRPL capabilities
Token screening/due diligence platforms
Liquidity pool fee calculators
Slippage Optimization Tool
Data and Indexing
Price Discovery

Financial Inclusion
Financial inclusion stands on the premise that every individual worldwide should have access to affordable, fundamental financial services. Astonishingly, about 1.4 billion adults remain unbanked globally. Devoid of essential services such as savings accounts, insurance, swift payments, loans, and credit. In developing economies a mere 71% of adults possess accounts, and women often find themselves excluded from these transformative financial systems.

Furthermore, nearly 1 billion adults grapple with limited access to vital financial services offered by global financial institutions. The costs associated with these services are frequently exorbitant, which has been particularly evident in remittances, loans, and SME cross-border payments. This hampers not just individual growth but also impedes the economic prospects of businesses, communities, and regions.

Despite these challenges, strides have been made towards broadening financial inclusion in recent years, with the surge in digital financial services and applications playing a pivotal role.

XRPL Grants beckons projects that act as catalysts for the acceleration of financial inclusion through Web3 innovations, like decentralized finance (DeFi). These endeavours aim to transcend conventional financial systems, break boundaries and extend economic participation, opportunity, and resilience to billions of underbanked and unbanked individuals.

Financial Inclusion Use Cases

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
Regenerative Finance (ReFi)
Asset management and digital wallets for underbanked users
Reducing costs of remittances
Increasing access to credit for underbanked users
Humanitarian aid delivery and management
Bond and other financial asset tokenization
Climate resilience

The XRP Ledger offers unparalleled advantages for both DEX and Financial Inclusion projects. With native features such as DEX functionality, trustlines, escrow, and its remarkable transaction speed and energy efficiency, the XRPL is the perfect playground for groundbreaking ideas.

Application Timeline

Applicants can anticipate a multi-stage review process that ensures careful evaluation and selection of projects that align with the spirit of XRPL Grants:

Stage	Date	Description
Review Phase 1	OCT 2023	Application and technical screenings to ensure the project meets general eligibility requirements in the spirit of the XRPL Grants program.
Review Phase 2	NOV 2023	In-depth review by the XRPL Grants Judging Committee to determine finalists.
Finalist Interviews	JAN 2024	Finalists will engage in 30-minute interviews with members of the XRPL Grants Team and Judging Committee.
Awardee Selection	FEB 2024	Awarded projects will be notified and publicly announced.

For those eager to find out more about the XRPL Grants and the opportunities it presents, two live information sessions are available on Zoom:

Financial Inclusion Focused Info Session: Tuesday, September 5, 1pm PT (20:00 UTC) (Registration Link)
Decentralized Exchange (DEX) Focused Info Session: Wednesday, September 6, 8am PT (15:00 UTC) (Registration link)

Ready to Make an Impact?

If you’re enthusiastic about building innovative solutions that align with the DEX and Financial Inclusion themes, the invitation is open for you to take part in Wave 7 of XRPL Grants. Your ideas could drive transformative change within the XRPL community and beyond. Stay tuned for updates and details about the application opening in late August 2023.

For more information and updates, visit xrplgrants.org and keep an eye out for the official call for proposals. The XRPL Grants program is dedicated to supporting innovation, diversity, and excellence - your project could be the next game-changer on the XRPL!

Join this exciting journey and shape the future of finance on the XRP Ledger.

Introducing the Judges for XRPL Grants Wave 6

Julia Heitner — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 16:56:33 +0000

As we continue our journey of supporting innovative projects and ideas within the XRPL community, it’s crucial to have a diverse and knowledgeable judging committee that can evaluate submissions with expertise and insight. We are pleased to welcome both returning judges and new voices who bring unique perspectives to the table. View the full roster of judges at xrplgrants.org/judges.

Welcome New Judges!

Wave 6 brings new experts to the judging committee to especially support the assessment of DeFi focused projects introducing professionals who have made significant contributions to their respective fields. Judges join us from diverse backgrounds and expertise, including: DeFi, tokenization, product management and application development, go-to-market strategy, business modeling, cybersecurity, and social impact.

Vivek Chauhan, Principal Product Manager, FalconX
Vivek currently spearheads Electronics trading business, FalconX 360 platform strategy and the overall UI/UX at FalconX, a leading digital assets prime brokerage. Prior to this, he was Senior Product Manager at Microsoft, developing and launching the Viva Insights products, along with enhancing their data analytics capabilities. Before Microsoft, Vivek spent six years at Nomura and Deutsch Bank, where he was VP for DB’s European cross-asset quantitative investment strategy business. Vivek holds an MBA degree from the Wharton School and completed his Bachelor's and Master's in Electronics Engineering from IIT Kharagpur. During his tenure at Wharton, he co-founded the Penn Blockchain club and worked on private blockchain supply chain use cases at Consensys.

Jasmine Cooper, Lead Product Manager, RippleX
Jasmine (Jazzi) leads the DeFi product team within RippleX, which focuses on the design, implementation and developer tooling for DEX, AMM, and other financial protocols. She is very interested in building the next wave of on-chain finance by creating protocols that offer real utility to users while supporting real world assets. Prior to joining Ripple, Jazzi spent several years in financial technology, both a product manager in mortgage tech and a founder/CEO in the consumer financial health space.

Lauren Feld, GTM, Collective Works
Lauren specializes in helping emerging tech startups define and implement full-funnel go-to-market strategies. She has worked with dozens of founding teams, ranging from frontier fintech at Techstars to Ethereum infrastructure and apps at ConsenSys. Most recently, Lauren served as the Head of Growth at decentralized data network Ceramic (backed by USV, Multicoin, Coinbase, Placeholder, among others). Lauren is passionate about enterprises adopting emerging tech and draws on her experience working with Fortune 500s at Deloitte’s Blockchain Lab and R3 to help bridge the gap. Today, Lauren works on everything from brand positioning to marketing, partnerships, sales, operational excellence, org design and culture development. She is also an active angel investor (Lit Protocol, CyberConnect and others) and founded The Collective, a mentorship group for female leadership in tech.

Carl Hua, Investment Partner & CTO, Shima Capital
Carl served as the Chief Architect at Celsius Network and General Manager of CelsiusX, the DeFi division of Celsius. Prior to Celsius, Carl led the research and development effort at RippleX, which is Ripple's open-source/developers platform business unit. He also co-managed the C++ (XRP Ledger) team during his time at Ripple. Prior to Ripple, Carl was the CTO for Logos Network - a first-layer, high-performance blockchain company, which was later acquired by Ripple. Earlier in his career, he contributed to the next-generation real-time flight software for the Europa mission at JPL NASA. He also has led engineering teams developing flight software at Northrop Grumman. On his time off, Carl advises early-stage start-ups to help them navigate the blockchain space. Most recently, Carl has been an advisor to the physical asset NFT company 4K.com. He holds an M.S. in System Engineering from UCLA and a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science from UCR.

Ajit Kulkarni, Senior Product Manager, RippleX
Ajit is a senior product manager at Ripple working on making the XRPL more interoperable with other blockchains. His team has been working on the Sidechains and the EVM sidechain capabilities for the XRPL. Prior to Ripple, he worked at Chronicled, a company that uses blockchain for healthcare supply chain applications. He was the first product manager there and scaled the team from 10 to 50 while launching 2 products for the Fortune 100 pharmaceutical and life sciences companies. He spent some time at Cisco before that in product management and engineering roles in the video streaming space. He holds an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, a Masters in Computer Science from Virginia Tech and a Bachelors in Engineering degree from University of Mumbai, India.

Alejandro Laplana, CEO, Shokworks, Inc
Alejandro Laplana is the founder and CEO of technology company Shokworks Inc., where he has developed over 500 digital platforms and apps for some of the world’s most exciting brands and companies. Shokworks holds a staff of 500+ full-time employees in 12 different cities. Laplana has generated over $1 Billion for Shokworks and its partners in revenue, cost- savings, and direct investment. Shokworks and its partners have amassed 10M users in aggregate, tokenized over $20M in assets and have been named Apple App Store’s “App of the Day” twice.

Shashwat Mittal, Senior Product Manager - Tokenization, RippleX
Shashwat is leading Tokenization efforts at RippleX. Shashwat's current focus area is to help enable Financial Asset Tokenization on-chain. Shashwat's team in the past has worked on introducing NFTs (XLS-20) to XRPL, and is currently working on two new proposals Compact Fungible Tokens (XLS-33d) and Clawback (XLS-39d).

Max Zheng, Director of Investments, Blockchain Founders Group
Max is Director of Investments at Blockchain Founders Group, a venture capital firm and company builder. In this role, he advises numerous crypto firms on business development, sales, fundraising, outreach, IT strategy, process strategy, and growth hacking.

Each of these new faces brings a wealth of experience and expertise in their respective domains, enriching the judging process with their diverse perspectives.

Returning Judges

The experience and dedication of our returning judges have been instrumental in driving the success of XRPL Grants. They represent a wide range of expertise and backgrounds, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation process that reflects the multidimensional nature of the projects we support. Judges join us from across Web3 industries, and academia (including UBRI - University Blockchain Research Initiative).

Sean Bennett, Co-founder, Stronghold
Jordan Cates, Developer Advocate, Anchain.AI
Scott Chamberlain, Entrepreneurial Fellow, Australian National University
Kenneth Chung, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Pennsylvania
Yebo Feng, Title: Research Fellow, Nanyang Technological University
Chris Jimison, CFO, Forte
Lukasz Kowalski, Lecturer, Industry Fellow, and Co-Director Blockchain X-Lab SCET, UC Berkeley
Dr. Kerby Lynch, Director of Research, Ceres Policy Research
Andrew Mangle, Associate Professor, Bowie State University
Jiahua Xu, Ph.D., Programme Director MSc Emerging Digital Technologies, University College London
Elliot Lee, Engineering Manager, RippleX
Aanchal Malhotra, Head of Research, RippleX
Marco Neri, Senior Manager, Developer Advocate, RippleX
Peter Rosberg, Carbon Markets Product Management, RippleX

Judging Criteria

When reviewing applications, judges are taking a detailed and holistic look at the project and application. Here are some examples of what the judging committee is looking for when reviewing applications.

Code review - the code in the project’s repo is sufficient, clear, and original. The team has clearly spent a decent amount of time building so far. There is a README that provides a clear explanation of their technical design.
Project goals and timelines - are these clear and thought out, or is this murky?
Use case/applicability - Is there a clear use case here? Does it make sense to build this project on the XRPL?
Team expertise - are there expert developers on the core team that can confidently execute the project?
Sustainability - does the team have a plan for how this project will be maintained long-term?
Legal and regulatory considerations - are there any potentially relevant legal or regulatory considerations for this project?

Disclaimer: the XRPL Grants program reserves the right to decline any project. Reports of harassment, doxing, etc that target members or Judges of the program will not be tolerated under any circumstances.

Interested in Applying for XRPL Grants?

We are excited to invite all passionate developers and teams to apply for Wave 7 of XRPL Grants. This is an incredible opportunity to showcase your innovative ideas and contribute to the XRPL ecosystem. The application period opens late August 2023, don’t miss out on the chance to be part of this wave of innovation.

As we move forward, we extend our gratitude to both our returning judges and those joining us for the first time. Their dedication in evaluating projects and ideas will shape the trajectory of many exciting builders on the XRPL ecosystem. Stay tuned for updates and announcements as we progress through the application evaluation process.

For more details and updates please visit xrplgrants.org and sign up for our email list.

Let’s work together to drive innovation, collaboration, and progress within the XRPL community!

XRPL Grants Wave 5 Awardees - Driving Innovation in the XRPL Ecosystem

Julia Heitner — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 16:41:37 +0000

In Wave 5 XRPL Grants attracted an exceptional pool of applicants, with an overwhelming response of 150 applications. After a rigorous selection process, 15 outstanding projects were awarded more than $1.6 million in total funding for their innovative ideas, technical prowess, and their potential to drive significant advancements within the XRPL ecosystem.

Wave 5 Awardees

The Wave 5 Awardees comprise a range of projects that will accelerate the adoption and utility of the XRP Ledger.

Use-cases include Web3 finance, specific projects aiming to improve financial services and facilitate transactions. There is also a notable emphasis on projects supporting developer tooling, and open-source initiatives that will benefit current and future project development on the XRP Ledger.

Wave 5 Awardees represent 14 countries and 5 continents:

Europe (7): France (2), Sweden (1), Switzerland (1), United Kingdom (1) Slovenia (1), Iceland (1), Germany (1)
Asia (3): Singapore (2), India (1)
Australia & Oceania (1): Australia (1)
North America (1): United States (1)
South America (2): Colombia (1) Brazil (1)

Let’s explore the awarded projects below. You can view the full list of Wave 5 Award Recipients here.

Alice’s Ring (France) - enables individuals to prove solvency without disclosing their wallet address or transaction history.

3Shop XRP (France) - a web3 CMS compatible with XRP Ledger, allowing for token gated products, services, content and experiences. 3ShopXRP offers a no-code web3 website builder, allowing merchants to read the NFT of their users.

Alphaday (Singapore) - a powerful crypto workflow aggregator that pulls in news, on-chain data, social media, web3 services, and more into one customizable UI.

Amora (Colombia) - a Shopify App that allows merchants to mint XLS-20 NFTs on the XRPL, associate those NFTs to token-gated campaigns, and reward customers.

Bithomp (Sweden) - community-focused XRPL explorer.

conFIEL (Switzerland) - digital certificates manager which allows KYC Tier 1 payments to be made on the XRPL by using RSA keys issued by the Mexican tax-revenue service ("SAT").

Dhali (United Kingdom) - a Tokenized API Marketplace that makes it easy for customers to monetise their code by using payment streaming and NFT ownership.

Evernode (Australia) - seriously smart contracts for the XRPL Ecosystem. Evernode brings “layer 2” smart contracts to the XRP Ledger ecosystem.

GateHub Data API (Slovenia) - a modern version of the deprecated Ripple Data API. It provides comprehensive access to XRP Ledger (XRPL) transaction history and processed analytical data (exchanges, volumes, balance changes and more).

Keystone (Iceland) - a treasury management platform for digital assets that empowers users to every major component of the web3 ecosystem. The platform allows users to access and manage all your funds in a single location and configure bespoke workflow automation on top of digital asset activities.

Poof XRPL Payments (United States) - offers a self-custody XRP-based financial infrastructure for payment processing and building financial applications on the XRPL.

XRPL Elixir (Brazil) - an Elixir-based RPC library (XRPC), allowing Elixir developers to easily integrate with XRPL blockchain HTTP APIs.

XRPL Meta (Germany) - a Metadata API for XRPL Assets, providing a uniform way of writing and reading metadata, so that token issuers only have to publish this data once. At the same time, app developers can read this metadata in a convenient and trusted way.

XRPScan - Deep search platform (India) - a data processing pipeline and API service to index XRPL transactions in a distributed search and analytics platform.

XRPSpec (Singapore) - a behavior-driven workflow test framework for XRPL.

Since the program’s founding in 2021, XRPL Grants has awarded more than $10 million in funding to 100+ projects globally. XRPL Grants provides funding ranging from $10,000 - $200,000 USD equivalent for software development projects utilizing the XRP Ledger and beneficially to the wider XRPL community. Each team must have software developers as part of their core team, and all projects accepted must include some technical development and open-source components.

Applications are accepted during an open call for proposals and then reviewed by the XRPL Grants Judging Committee — an international panel of judges across web3, academia (including the University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI)), as well as other specialized industries and sustainability focused organizations.

Exciting opportunities lie ahead!

Wave 6 applications are currently under review, with awardees set to be announced this fall. For more information about Wave 6 and the awarding timeline, visit the Wave 6 call for applications and awarding timeline.

Additionally, Wave 7 applications are slated to open in August 2023. To stay up-to-date and be notified when applications open, sign up for the XRPL Grants email list on the website.

Are you interested in learning more about the XRPL and getting involved in the community?

Explore the XRPL Developers Discord, the XRP Ledger Learning Portal, and the extensive documentation available on xrpl.org. You can also participate in XRPL Community Events and Hackathons to engage with like-minded individuals and stay abreast of the latest developments in the XRPL ecosystem.

Jiahua Xu and Jordan Cates Join XRPL Grants Judging Committee

Julia Heitner — Thu, 25 May 2023 16:35:45 +0000

XRPL Grants are committed to continuing to grow our judging committee to reflect the breadth and diversity of the community and are pleased to welcome two new judges to the committee beginning in Wave 5: Jiahua Xu and Jordan Cates.

Returning judges in Wave 5 are experts in their field spanning web3 and other key industries, like sustainability and social justice, as well as academia (including UBRI - University Blockchain Research Initiative). The 18 returning judges are: Dr. Sanjay Bapna, Morgan State University; Sean Bennett, Stronghold, Klitos Christodoulou, PhD, University of Nicosia; Kenneth Chung, University of Pennsylvania; Brian Dawson, Web3 Advisor; Yebo Feng, University of Oregon; Chris Jimison, Forte; Lukasz Kowalski, UC Berkeley; Elliot Lee, RippleX; Dr. Kerby Lynch, Ceres Policy Research; Aanchal Malhotra, PhD, RippleX; Andrew Mangle, Bowie State University; Marco Neri, RippleX; Peter Rosberg, RippleX: Apoorva Sahay, RMI; Mayukha Vadari, RippleX; Bo Yang, Bowie State University; and Jan Zibelnik, BlockWallet. View the full committee at: xrplgrants.org/judges.

XRPL Grants Wave 5 applications are still in review and awardees will be announced in June 2023!

Meet the New Judges

Jiahua Xu, Ph.D.
Dr. Jiahua Xu is a Lecturer in Financial Computing at University College London (UCL), where she teaches Blockchain Technologies and Machine Learning in Finance. She is an award-winning researcher at the UCL's Centre for Blockchain Technologies, and serves as the Programme Director of the MSc Emerging Digital Technologies under the Computer Science Department. Dr. Xu teaches FinTech courses at various institutions, including EPFL, London Business School, EDHEC Business School, and Center for Latin American Monetary Studies. She visited and has ongoing research collaboration with Harvard Business School, Imperial College London, and Vienna University of Economics and Business. Her research interests lie primarily in blockchain economics, behavioral finance, and risk management. She has published academic papers in top tier conferences in computer science as well as renowned journals in economics and finance.

Jordan Cates
Jordan is a developer advocate for AnChain.Ai based in Miami, Florida. AnChain.ai has received XRPL Grants funding for two projects BEI API - a free version of its AI/ML risk engine via API and CISO™ (Compliance Investigation Security Operation) integration for the XRPL. Previously, Jordan spent time as a software developer in San Francisco, and has a background in cybersecurity education. Jordan is a member of the Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS) and a recipient of the WiCyS Student Scholarship.

Wave 6 Application is Open!

Interested developers and teams are welcome to apply for Wave 6 - with a focus on Web3 and Finance. Learn more about the Wave 6 application and theme. Applications close on June 18th, 2023 at 11:59pm PT. Apply at xrplgrants.org.

Open call for Web3 Financial Projects Built on the XRPL

Julia Heitner — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 15:37:03 +0000

Exciting news for developers looking to create innovative web3 financial projects – the XRPL Grants Program is launching an open call for applications for Wave 6! The focus for this wave is on projects that leverage web3 for financial use cases on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). Applications will be accepted from April 25 - June 25, 2023 at 11:59pm Pacific Time.

The XRPL is an ideal platform for building out new financial use cases. It is an open-source, energy-efficient, and decentralized blockchain powered by a global developer community with capabilities around tokenization, settlement, and liquidity to enable a broad array of decentralized app use cases.

Native features to the XRPL, including decentralized exchange (DEX), trustlines, and escrow —coupled with its highly performant, low-cost architecture—provide a unique differentiation for financial use cases by delivering security, reliability, and efficiency right out of the gate. The XRPL also allows for the incorporation of NFTs and Fungible assets for real-world asset tokenization. Additionally, developers can directly access XRPL functionality without needing to learn, build, and maintain complex smart contracts.

The XRPL can handle up to 1,500 transactions per second, and settles transactions in just 3-5 seconds with minimal energy costs. It supports large scale use cases, processing 2.1B+ transactions without failure or security breach since 2012. This makes it an excellent choice for developers who want to build with confidence on proven technology.

The XRPL Grants program is looking for projects that address financial inequities, streamline traditional financial processes, and provide innovative new use cases for the XRP Ledger. The projects funded will include a combination of applications and services, tools, and middleware. Types of projects that may be funded in Wave 6 include, but are not limited to:

Financial Equity / Inclusion
Regenerative Finance (ReFi)
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) - Lending & Borrowing, DEX/AMM interfaces and integrations, Asset management
Data & Indexing
Payments
E-commerce
Merchant Tooling and Integration
Tokenization - Regulatory Compliant Real World Assets (RWA)
Decentralized Compliance & Security
Interoperability - Token bridging, Cross-chain messaging, implement blockchain interoperability protocol/technology with another blockchain
Developer Tools
Oracles
Insurance

Additionally, in Wave 6, XRPL Grants will consider applications from any innovative software development projects that are leveraging the XRP Ledger. View previously funded projects here.

Application Review & Awarding Process
There are multiple stages of review; applicants can expect to be notified of their project status within 6-8 weeks after their submission, and whether or not their application will be moving forward to the next stage.

Review Stage 1: June/July 2023: Application and technical screenings to ensure the project meets general eligibility requirements in the spirit of the XRPL Grants program.
Review Stage 2: August 2023: In-depth review by the XRPL Grants Judging Committee to determine finalists.
Finalist Interviews: August 2023: 30-minute interview with members of the XRPL Grants Team and Judging Committee.
Awarding: Sept 2023: Awarded projects will be notified and publicly announced.

Info Sessions
We invite anyone interested in learning more about XRPL Grants to attend a live information session:

Zoom Info Session: Wednesday, May 10, 8am PT (Register to Attend)
Zoom Info Session: Wednesday, May 24, 4pm PT (Register to Attend)

Apply Now
Apply to Wave 6 at xrplgrants.org.

Have additional questions? Check out the FAQ page and join the XRPL Developers Discord!

Application Open for XRPL Grants Wave 5!

Julia Heitner — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 18:06:08 +0000

XRPL Grants is now accepting applications for the Wave 5 cohort through March 26, 2023, 11:59pm Pacific Time. XRPL Grants funds software developers interested in building technical standards and solutions using open-source technology to help grow the XRP Ledger Community.

Wave 5 Call for Applications

In Wave 5 XRPL Grants seeks applications for any project built on the XRPL and involves some technical development. Projects should contain open-source components, be technically feasible, and benefit the broader XRPL community.

XRPL Grants strongly encourages applications from women and non-binary developers and teams, as well as other underrepresented groups from the XRPL community.

Types of projects that may be funded in Wave 5 include, but are not limited to:

Tokenization

Real World Assets (RWAs)
Utility NFTs (i.e.Rewards/Loyalty Programs/Ticketing/Membership)
Music/Entertainment Rights
Proof of Existence (e.g. Certificates, Degrees, Legal Ownership)
Decentralized Science (DeSci)

Infrastructure & Security

Data API
Data Visualization Tools

Developer Tooling/Usability

Client Libraries/SDKs

Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Financial Inclusion
Regenerative Finance (ReFi)
Payments
Ecommerce
Digital Remittances
Humanitarian Aid
Merchant Integration

Sustainability/Social Impact
Additional Projects that leverage the XRPL to better society and the environment

Important Deadlines and FAQs

The complete application process for Wave 5 takes roughly 3-4 months.

Applications Open: February 7 - March 26, 2023 (Early applications encouraged!)

Review and Judging: April 2023
There are multiple stages of review; applicants can expect to be notified of their project status within 6-8 weeks after their submission, including whether or not they will be moving forward to the next stage.

Review Stage 1: Application and technical screenings to ensure the project meets general eligibility requirements in the spirit of the XRPL Grants program.
Review Stage 2: In-depth review by the XRPL Grants Judging Committee to determine finalists.

Finalist Interviews: May 2023
30-minute interview with members of the XRPL Grants Team and Judging Committee.

Awarding: June 2022
Awarded projects will be notified and publicly announced.

Info Sessions

We invite anyone interested in learning more about XRPL Grants to attend a live information session:

Zoom Info Session: Wednesday, Feb 15, 8am PT (Register to Attend)
Discord AMA: Tuesday, Feb 21, 9:30am PT (Join the XRPL Developers Discord to learn more!)
Zoom Info Session: Tues, Mar 7, 2pm PT (Register to Attend)

Apply Now

Apply to Wave 5 at xrplgrants.org.

Have additional questions? Check out the FAQ page and join the XRPL Developers Discord!