What to know:
- Brad Garlinghouse says crypto adoption is reaching meaningful institutional scale.
- Ripple Swell 2026 will combine Swell and Apex events.
- David Schwartz expects discussions around XRPL, AI, and tokenization.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has described the current stage of the cryptocurrency industry as a defining moment, citing growing institutional adoption and rising real-world blockchain use ahead of Ripple Swell 2026. According to Garlinghouse, years of development are beginning to translate into meaningful scale across the digital asset sector.
In a public statement, Garlinghouse said he has spent enough time in the crypto industry to recognize when a significant shift is taking place. He noted that Ripple’s flagship conference arrives as blockchain technology gains broader acceptance among financial institutions and enterprises. Additionally, he highlighted the first-ever combination of Swell and Apex, which will take place during the event scheduled for Oct. 27-29 in New York.
Garlinghouse stated that Ripple has been building toward this stage for years. Consequently, he believes the upcoming conference reflects a larger trend of adoption that continues to expand across the industry.
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Ripple Executives Highlight Growth Across XRP Ecosystem
Other senior Ripple executives have also expressed optimism about the upcoming event. Ripple President Monica Long described Swell 2026 as the company’s largest conference to date. She said the event will feature main-stage keynote sessions, expanded programming, and multiple tracks dedicated to institutional adoption, ecosystem growth, and innovation.
Moreover, Long noted that this year’s gathering marks Swell’s tenth anniversary. As a result, Ripple plans to showcase developments across its products, partnerships, and technology initiatives. Meanwhile, Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz emphasized the growing utility of XRP and the XRP Ledger. According to Schwartz, one of the most valuable aspects of Swell is seeing how developers and businesses continue to build new applications on the network.
He said discussions will cover payments, tokenization, interoperability, decentralized finance, artificial intelligence, and other emerging blockchain use cases. Furthermore, Schwartz encouraged members of the XRP community to share ideas and explore new opportunities during the conference.
Ripple has also secured a notable list of speakers. Matt Damon, actor and co-founder of Water.org, is expected to discuss how the nonprofit uses Ripple Payments and the RLUSD stablecoin. Additionally, Bullish CEO and former New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley is scheduled to participate.
With Ripple positioning Swell 2026 as its biggest conference yet, the event is expected to bring together industry leaders, developers, and institutional participants from across the digital asset ecosystem.
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