Ripple Co-Founder Donates $25 Million in XRP to US University

Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, his wife Lyna Lam and the Rippleworks nonprofit have donated $25 million in XRP to San Francisco State University.

AccessTimeIconApr 8, 2019 at 8:00 a.m. UTC
Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 1:52 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Ripple co-founder and executive chairman Chris Larsen, his wife Lyna Lam and nonprofit foundation Rippleworks have donated $25 million in XRP cryptocurrency to San Francisco State University.

The university announced the news on Friday, saying that the donation is the “largest gift ever made in a digital asset” to a university in the U.S.

The funding will be allocated to the university's College of Business in order to support students in becoming “changemakers of local and global entrepreneurial and fintech ecosystems.”

Leslie E. Wong, president of San Francisco State University, said:

“This groundbreaking gift will position the College of Business as an evolving, distinctly diverse and industry-relevant epicenter of business innovation and entrepreneurship.”

The donation will also fund two new permanent faculty chairs, the Rippleworks Endowed Chair for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and the Lam-Larsen Endowed Chair in Financial Technology, according to a separate statement released Friday by the College of Business. The chairs will help focus the college on entrepreneurship, commercial incubation, financial technologies and digital currencies, it said.

In honor of the donation, the university is also planning to change the name of the College of Business to the Lam Family College of Business, pending approval from the California State University Board of Trustees, according to the announcement.

The university raised the funds through its “BOLD Thinking” funding campaign, which has so far reached over $136 million of its target of $150 million. “The pace of this campaign has exceeded our expectations, but not its reach,” said campaign chair John Gumas.

Back in 2014, Larsen committed to donating 7 billion XRP to an unnamed charitable cause amid controversy over large sums of XRP that had been awarded to Ripple founders.

XRP, the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is currently trading at around $0.36, largely unchanged on the day.

Chris Larsen and Lyna Lam image courtesy of the San Francisco State University

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.