Tech founder gives $25M in crypto to alma mater

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A tech entrepreneur and his wife have made a very Silicon Valley donation to his San Francisco alma mater — $25 million, mostly in cryptocurrency.

The gift from Chris Larsen, the founder of cryptocurrency company Ripple, and his wife Lyna Lam, to San Francisco State University is already giving officials an education in digital financial services.

Venesia Thompson-Ramsay, interim vice president for university advancement, says the November donation came in as about 56 million XRP — one of thousands of digital-only currencies.

But its value has fluctuated since then. Because of financial regulations, Thompson-Ramsay says the university is slowly liquidating the digital money.

She says Larsen, who donated $3 million in cash, has guaranteed his alma mater he will make up the difference until the school has the promised $25 million.