Ripple has extended its blockchain research partnership with New York University Abu Dhabi, a major research university in the United Arab Emirates, through 2027. The extension was carried out through Ripple's University Blockchain Research Initiative, or UBRI.

On Aug. 12, blockchain media outlet U.Today reported that the cooperation is being read as an extension of Ripple's strategy to broaden its base for blockchain research and talent development in the Middle East. New York University Abu Dhabi is an integrated liberal arts and science research university, and Reece Merrick (리스 메릭), Ripple's managing director and head for the Middle East and Africa, said in a post on X that he was "proud" of the UBRI renewal.

Merrick said it was particularly meaningful, from a United Arab Emirates-based standpoint, that NYU Abu Dhabi continues to strengthen its role as a regional hub for blockchain research and talent development. He pointed to research led by professors Rasha Karapanza and Yaw Nyarko at CTED as a representative example.

Merrick cited an expansion of the Volta Initiative and XRP Ledger-based applied research, saying work is under way to connect decentralised technology to real-world impact. He said such research is "a good example of turning decentralised technology into real-world impact" and added that he looks forward to the next chapter of innovation from Abu Dhabi.

Ripple has expanded its global university network through UBRI, launched in 2018. The program focuses on supporting foundational education and research in digital assets. The renewal is closer to a move to simultaneously bolster the regional research ecosystem and a foundation for real-world use than a simple expansion of industry-academia cooperation.

On-chain indicators related to XRP also showed notable changes. On-chain analytics platform Santiment said wallets holding 1,000,000 XRP or more increased by 32 over the past three months. The increase came as XRP's market capitalisation fell 29 percent over the same period.

The market appears to be paying more attention to large-holder moves than price action. XRP fell short of expectations in price performance throughout the summer, but RLUSD was assessed as having shown meaningful growth as an institutional stablecoin. Ripple's payments, custody and tokenisation infrastructure was also cited as continuing to link the XRP Ledger to payment use cases.

Santiment said an increase in large wallets while market capitalisation declines could be a sign that strong hands are absorbing fear-driven selling in the market. If holding patience grows more than short-term price expectations, bullish interest could increase further in a future period of volatility.

XRP rose 1.02 percent over the past 24 hours to $1.02. More notable than the short-term price, however, is that Ripple's expansion of its research ecosystem and the increase in large holders are continuing at the same time. As a result, attention is expected to focus on how Ripple links research cooperation in the Middle East with a foundation for real-world use of the XRP Ledger.