Ripple launches $250M fund for NFT creators

Ripple Labs is launching a fund for creators, marketplaces and brands to explore new use cases for nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, on its ledger.

In a Wednesday announcement, Ripple said the $250 million fund would be focused on accelerating adoption in the crypto space by working with nonfungible tokens, or NFTs. The platform said it wanted to address concerns with the minting of the tokenized artwork, including “clunky” user experiences, high transaction fees and the possible effects on the environment.

“We believe NFTs embody the promise of tokenization and represent a tipping point for its embrace by the mainstream,” said Ripple. “Through the Creator Fund and the XRPL, we’re excited to unleash new utility for NFTs and accelerate the broader shift to tokenization.”

According to Ripple, NFT marketplaces, including MintNFT and Mintable and creative agencies, would be among the first to have access to the fund. Any proposed NFT use case would be built on the XRP Ledger, giving creators an opportunity to monetize their work. Ripple CTO David Schwartz has previously cited the ledger’s low cost, high speed and payments features to “streamline NFT creation at scale.”

Related: The ongoing NFT boom: Can supply of nonfungibles outweigh demand?

In July, Mintable announced it was planning to integrate the XRP Ledger as it was “ideally suited to deliver a seamless experience for NFTs” — the platform has minted more than 700,000 items since 2020. Both Ripple and the NFT marketplace have made public statements on the environmental concerns in the crypto space. While Ripple has pledged to become carbon net-zero by 2030, the company has also said that its XRP ledger is already carbon neutral.