Ripple Leads Launch of 'JFIIP'

The Asia Web3 Alliance Japan (AWAJ) and Web3 Salon has launched the JFIIP in collaboration with Ripple Labs and major Japanese financial corporations.This is an accelerator program designed to fund and support Japanese startups building "compliant" financial solutions specifically on the XRP Ledger (XRPL).The initiative aims to bridge the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and Web3 by leveraging Japan's regulatory environment.The primary goal is to accelerate the development of institutional-grade blockchain solutions. Unlike general crypto hackathons, this program focuses strictly on "compliant finance."It targets startups that can build tools useful for actual banks and financial institutions, moving beyond speculative trading use cases.The key focus areas include leveraging Ripple’s payment infrastructure (including RLUSD), tokenizing physical assets (real estate, bonds, commodities), and credit infrastructure.Heavy-hitters The significance of this program lies in the list of "Strategic Corporate Partners." The list of strategic corporate partners includes Mizuho Bank, SMBC Nikko Securities (two megabanks), as well as Securitize Japan, the leader in tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs), and HIRAC FUND, A venture capital fund focused on digital innovation.Benefits for startups For startups, the immediate capital is modest (a grant of roughly $10,000 or 1.55 million JPY). But in the world of enterprise sales, the cash is secondary. The real alpha is the access: a priority fast-track to Ripple’s massive global grant pool and, more importantly, direct mentorship from the most important bankers. Why Japan?The announcement shows that Japan as a uniquely favorable environment for this program for two reasons. Unlike the US, Japan has established clear rules for crypto assets, stablecoins, and tokenized securities. Japanese institutions of the likes of Mizuho and SMBC are actively seeking blockchain solutions to modernize their infrastructure.By funding startups to build on XRPL, Ripple ensures there are actual apps and use cases for the ledger beyond just sending XRP.Partnering with Mizuho and SMBC shows that major Japanese banks are specifically looking at the XRP Ledger for their future infrastructure needs (RWAs and payments).