Ripple announced its Swell 2026 conference lineup on September 29, expecting 1,500 participants from traditional finance, crypto, academia, and the XRP ecosystem. The three-day event runs October 27-29 at The Shed in Manhattan, featuring more than 100 speakers, over 80 sessions, and three stages.
This year marks the first time Swell combines with Apex, a summit for XRP Ledger developers, institutions, and investors, and UBRI Connect, the academic conference of Ripple's University Blockchain Research Initiative.
Institutional Focus on Digital Assets
The institutional program examines how digital assets are transforming banking, asset management, and fintech. Sessions address XRP exchange-traded funds, which provide cryptocurrency exposure through exchange-listed shares, alongside discussions on settlement and bringing digital assets into bank-grade production.
Speakers include Laide Majiyagbe, Global Head of Markets at BNY Mellon; Billy Hult, CEO of Tradeweb; and Johann Kerbrat, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Crypto and International at Robinhood. Stablecoin issuance models will be debated by Elizabeth St-Onge, Head of Digital Assets Product and Strategy at TD Securities, and Michael Blaugrund, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Intercontinental Exchange, addressing tokenized equities, funds, and collateral.
Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple's CEO, moderates a markets conversation with Tom Farley, chairman and CEO of crypto exchange Bullish, formerly president of the New York Stock Exchange. Water.org co-founders Matt Damon and Gary White separately examine Ripple Payments and RLUSD, the company's dollar stablecoin, in transfers supporting water and sanitation access.
Developer and Research Sessions
The ecosystem track focuses on the technology underpinning the network. David Schwartz, Chief Technology Officer Emeritus, and Ayo Akinyele, senior director of engineering at RippleX, discuss the ledger's future, with emphasis on privacy, scaling, and institutional infrastructure.
Academic sessions explore how artificial intelligence intersects with cryptography, security, and financial systems. Cornell Tech professor Ari Juels examines how AI is reshaping crypto, while University of Pennsylvania Wharton School professor Kevin Werbach addresses autonomous software connecting decentralized finance with traditional markets. A hackathon is scheduled for the weekend before the main event.
Background and Scale
Ripple noted that the conference traces its origins to a gathering ten years ago when the company was excluded from Sibos, the banking conference that has brought the financial community together since 1978. The announcement states that the XRP Ledger has operated for more than 13 years and processed well over $1 trillion in volume, with Ripple solutions enabling trillions of dollars in transactions last year.
