- South Korea’s oldest university has joined the Injective network as a node verifier and research collaborator.
- The parties plan to advance research and development on the tokenization of real-world assets and other on-chain financial structures in South Korea.
Korea University, one of Asia’s most prestigious educational institutions, recently joined the Injective ecosystem as a node validator and research collaborator, deepening cooperation between the cryptocurrency industry and academia, according to the network.
The partnership was led by the university’s Blockchain Institute, which has been researching decentralized technology since its launch in 2020.
Korea University was ranked No. 1 in Korea in the Korea Times’ 2026 World University Rankings, and was ranked among the world’s top 100 institutions last year. As Injective magazine explains, universities “have played a fundamental role in shaping the academic, technological, and policy landscape of this country.”
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— Injective🥷 (@injective) January 24, 2026
The university will now become the primary verifier, contributing to the global expansion and operation of the network. Both companies will pursue research initiatives that span some of the fastest growing areas, including on-chain finance and tokenization of real-world assets. The network said it will focus on industry-wide infrastructure, institutional requirements and regulatory compliance for interested users, rather than standalone pilots.
Andrew Kang, Injective’s head of Korean operations, commented:
Partnerships with academic institutions play a critical role in building long-term trust and sustainable ecosystem growth. We hope that this partnership will further stimulate research and discussion on the implementation of on-chain finance and RWA in Korea and the wider Asia region.
Building the future of injectable drugs in Korea and beyond
This partnership joins dozens of others in which academic institutions are central to the development of decentralized technologies. As we reported, Ripple recently introduced the University Digital Asset Xcelerator in partnership with the University of California, Berkeley, to support early-stage teams building on the XRP Ledger.
As we reported, Cardano also launched a five-week accelerator program last year in partnership with Draper University to provide funding and mentorship to blockchain developers.
Some universities, such as UT Austin, are using multi-million dollar endowments to invest directly in digital assets.
“Increasingly, universities are contributing directly to coordinating the security, governance, and policies of production networks, rather than remaining external observers,” Injective commented.
For Korea University, this partnership expands its ability to explore blockchain use cases that have real-world impact, with tokenization being a top priority, according to Professor Inho Lee. Lee, director of the Blockchain Institute, added:
This partnership allows us to move beyond theory-driven research and focus on practical research that can be applied to real-world industrial and regulatory environments. We would like to continue researching digital assets and RWA structures suitable for the Korean market.
Meanwhile, INJ is trading at $4.42down slightly over the past day, with total losses over the past week being 5%.
