According to a press release shared with Bitcoinist, payment company Ripple became the newest sponsor for the “Fintech at Cornell” initiative. Launched by the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, the initiative seeks to “encourage” innovation in the Financial Technology (FinTech) sector.

Ripple Finds Partners To Support Economic Innovation

Per the release, the “Fintech at Cornell” initiative is a place for academics, former regulators, industry practitioners, students, and others to debate ideas and to “facilitate” collaboration. The concepts discussed in this initiative are related to Fintech, business data science, and the digital economy, including crypto and blockchain technology.

College of Business Dean Andrew Karolyi stated the following, according to the press release:

I am pleased to welcome Ripple to Fintech at Cornell. For the past two years, our Fintech Initiative has accomplished much to elevate the fintech conversation (…). As we approach year three, we hope to build upon this success. We aspire for Fintech at Cornell to be firmly positioned at the intersection of global fintech scholarship and industry thought-leadership. We are immensely grateful for Ripple’s support and enthusiasm for our initiative, and we look forward to building upon this success.

In addition, “Fintech at Cornell” provides industry agents and researchers to educate students on these innovations to prepare them for the “new digital age.” Thus, new generations can learn about these innovations from industry participants, leaders, entrepreneurs, researchers, and policymakers.

Lauren Weymouth, Ripple’s Head of University Partnerships, stated:

Fostering innovation for the real world is at the heart of Ripple’s mission, and we’re proud to collaborate with Cornell’s faculty and students to trailblaze a crypto-enabled future through our University Blockchain Research Initiative, which supports academic research, technical development and innovation in blockchain, cryptocurrency, and digital payments.

The announcement comes on the heels of a new wave of regulatory scrutiny from U.S. authorities against the crypto industry. In the past two weeks, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued actions against top crypto exchanges, such as Kraken, and targeted critical components of the Binance ecosystem.

Ripple is currently embroiled in a legal battle with the SEC. The regulator accused the company and two of its top executives of allegedly offering unregistered security, the XRP token. The SEC seems determined to gain more oversight over the nascent industry.

For some, this approach will likely hinder financial innovation in the United States. Ripple seems keen to find a counterbalance by supporting initiatives like Fintech at Cornell and institutions promoting a world where crypto and blockchain technology plays a crucial role.

In that sense, Will Cong, tenured Professor of Finance and Founding Faculty Director for the Fintech At Cornell Initiative, said:

A major component of the Fintech at Cornell Initiative is the fostering of a global research platform to identify and answer the key issues in the space. Ripple not only has led the industry in Fintech innovations but has always devoted itself to supporting fundamental research on the most challenging problems.