 
 
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has outlined what he considers one of the clearest signs that institutional capital is finally entering the crypto market, despite recent volatility.
Speaking at Binance Blockchain Week alongside Solana Foundation President Lily Liu and Binance CEO Richard Teng, Garlinghouse said XRP ETFs have already raised over $700 million in just a few weeks.
According to Ripple’s CEO, that surge reflects pent-up demand from institutions that previously avoided the asset due to a lack of U.S. regulatory clarity.
Garlinghouse emphasized that the shift in U.S. policy has been dramatically under-priced. With the world’s largest economy representing 22% of global GDP, the removal of long-standing regulatory hostility marks a critical turning point.
Major financial firms, including Franklin Templeton, BlackRock, and even Vanguard, which once refused to touch crypto, are now entering the space. That situation fuels Garlinghouse’s strongest optimism for 2026.
 
That said, Brad Garlinghouse noted that crypto still represents just 1–2% of the global ETF market. He dismissed concerns about short-term ETF outflows and declared there is “no chance” the asset class remains this small by 2026.
For Ripple’s institutional brokerage arm, the trend is already visible: firms that stayed sidelined due to risk aversion or regulatory uncertainty are now beginning to “crawl, then walk, then run.”
Moving on, Garlinghouse said the recent market turbulence has not scared institutions. “Definitely not,” he told the panel, arguing that volatility is pulling more interest in rather than pushing capital out.
On the payments front, the Ripple CEO highlighted the company’s growing stablecoin business, which recently surpassed a $1 billion market cap and has secured approvals in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and the DIFC.
The company is seeing accelerating demand for stablecoin-based treasury flows, boosted further by upcoming U.S. legislation such as the GENIUS Act. Moreso, Ripple’s acquisition of GTreasury is reinforcing that momentum.
Looking ahead, Garlinghouse expects meaningful U.S. regulatory legislation to pass in the first half of 2026, setting up what he believes could be a transformational year for XRP and the broader market.