Today, we are thrilled to introduce Ripple’s Creator Fund.
Announced as part of Apex, the XRP Ledger (XRPL) Developer Summit, this fund fosters innovation in tokenization, with a focus on non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The fund will provide targeted support for creators, brands and marketplaces to explore new use cases for NFTs on the XRPL leveraging its innate advantages of speed, cost and sustainability.
The Future Will Be Tokenized
Since day one, we’ve viewed crypto and blockchain as powerful levelers, unlocking access and equity for everyone. The growth of NFTs is an important part of that vision, helping build a tokenized future that will allow new business models to prosper and people to engage more deeply with the communities and things they care most about.
That vision is fast becoming a reality. In fact, the World Economic Forum projects that 10% of the world’s GDP will be tokenized by 2027. Just six short years from now!
The Creator Fund can help accelerate this adoption by attracting a broader community of creators to participate in and benefit from NFTs. Digital art and collectibles are only the tip of the NFT iceberg—with the support of the Creator Fund and the power of the XRP Ledger as a premier platform for minting and managing NFTs, creators and developers can continue to explore utility in NFTs through use cases such as asset ownership and interactive experiences that will help bring about this tokenized future.
Solving NFT Pain Points
Unfortunately, today, many creators are still hesitant to engage with NFTs because of technical concerns about NFT platforms or for fear that their NFTs won’t gain traction. Developers can also be turned off by clunky user experiences, high transaction fees and environmental impact concerns with minting on many other platforms.
Ripple aims to alleviate these challenges by providing the financial, creative and technical support needed for creators to engage and eventually deliver new NFT use cases. To do this, we will provide:
- Financial and co-marketing support
- Technical support for a superior NFT experience built on the XRP Ledger
- Creative support through agency partners to craft premium NFT projects
As part of today’s announcement, we are teaming up with NFT marketplaces and creative agencies that will have early access to the fund to unlock new tokenization use cases.
NFT marketplaces mintNFT and Mintable will integrate with the XRPL to deliver a seamless NFT experience for developers. Our premiere agency partner, VSA Partners, has also signed on to the initiative to help their creator and brand clients create and sell their NFTs.
XRPL: Built for Tokenization
Of course, none of this is possible without the XRP Ledger. This open-source, decentralized blockchain supports the tokenization of any asset, including NFTs, with a clear set of existing and proposed NFT standards. It delivers a seamless NFT experience that offers creators a powerful way to monetize their works, and gives developers all the functionality they need — including speed, low cost and built-in royalties — to efficiently and sustainably move value at scale, and without the need for Layer-2 protocols.
Its built-in decentralized exchange (DEX) has enabled the issuance or trading of more than 5,400 different tokens since its inception. Creators minting and creating NFTs on the XRPL can also benefit from its deep liquidity and near real-time settlement for tokenized assets.
Further, the XRPL’s consensus mechanism powers low-cost transactions, compared to the huge fees sometimes required on some other blockchains. Carbon-neutral and up to 120,000x more efficient than leading proof-of-work blockchains, the XRP Ledger provides developers with the unique capability to run highly sustainable NFT apps and marketplaces.
Ultimately, we believe NFTs embody the promise of tokenization and represent a tipping point for its embrace by the mainstream. Through the Creator Fund and the XRPL, we’re excited to unleash new utility for NFTs and accelerate the broader shift to tokenization.
Learn more and apply for Ripple’s Creator Fund here.
