The new Creator Fund seeks to expand the uses of non-fungible tokens while attracting creators and brands to the XRP Ledger.
Ripple is betting $250 million that it can make the XRP Ledger a premiere home for NFT creators, markets and brands.
The Creator Fund, announced on September 29, also seeks to expand the use of non-fungible tokens beyond its current position as a platform primarily for art and collectibles.
NFTs are unique tokens that can hold media and data of any kind, verifying its provenance on an immutable blockchain. In its announcement, Ripple said it sees digital art and collectibles like CryptoPunks “only the tip of the NFT iceberg.”
Backed by its fund, the international payments firm said it believes “creators and developers can continue to explore utility in NFTs through use cases such as asset ownership and interactive experiences,” in order to bring about a “tokenized future” — and make the XRP Ledger “a premier platform for minting and managing NFTs” in the process.
Ripple’s primary business is making cross-border financial transactions — notably small ones like those used for remittances — very fast and very cheap, and it sees NFTs as broadly part of the same mission. Ripple is also pushing sustainability, noting that the XRP Ledger is already 100% carbon neutral.
It’s the biggest new initiative in a while for Ripple, which has been embroiled in a long-running fight with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The regulator has charged Ripple with illegal securities sales. The company said in its blog post:
“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.”
Non-Frustrating Tokens
Ripple said making the process of developing, minting and marketing NFT projects a simpler, more user-friendly, and more successful experience is a big part of its strategy.
To do this it will provide financial support as well as creative and marketing expertise, and technical support “needed for creators to engage and eventually deliver new NFT use cases.”
To this end, Ripple said it has partnered with NFT marketplaces mintNFT and Mintable, which will integrate the XRP Ledger into their platforms. It has also brought in the creative agency it uses, VSA Partners, to help the creators and brands the fund supports to market and sell their NFTs.
