Ripple Swell 2026 Begins in NYC With 100+ Speakers

RippleXRP-2.35% Swell 2026 Kicks Off in New York

Ripple's flagship Swell conference officially opens on Oct. 27, 2026, at The Shed venue in Manhattan, New York.

The three-day event runs through Oct. 29. It brings together over 1,500 expected attendees, featuring more than 100 speakers across three stages and over 80 sessions.

The annual gathering connects global financial executives, researchers, and developers who actively build within the XRP Ledger ecosystem.

Combining Three Events Under One Program

For the first time in its history, Ripple is unifying three separate gatherings into a single comprehensive event program.

The expanded conference merges the main Swell event with Apex and UBRI Connect.

Apex serves as a dedicated summit for developers, institutional leaders, and investors working with the XRP Ledger. Meanwhile, UBRI Connect focuses on academics participating in Ripple's University Blockchain Research Initiative.

The schedule is structured around three primary focus areas:

• Institutional: Examining digital asset markets, payment systems, and enterprise financial infrastructure.
• Ecosystem: Focusing on community initiatives, applications, and developer projects on the XRP Ledger.
• Innovation: Exploring upcoming blockchain technology trends, protocol upgrades, and academic research.

Ripple noted that Swell has historically served as the primary venue where the company reveals its most significant product updates and corporate partnerships.

Prominent Industry Leaders and Technical Insights

The event schedule includes high-profile speakers from traditional finance, Web3, and global humanitarian sectors.

Featured industry executives speaking at the event include Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, CME Group CEO Terrence Duffy, and Bullish CEO Tom Farley.

Additionally, Matt Damon and Gary White, co-founders of non-profit organization Water.org, are scheduled to join key discussions.

Technical sessions will highlight the evolution of the XRP Ledger network. Engineering presentations feature David Schwartz, Ripple's chief technology officer emeritus, and Ayo Akinyele, senior director of engineering at Ripple X.

Developers will dive into practical topics such as real-world asset tokenization, security standards, user privacy, and formal verification—a mathematical approach used to confirm software accuracy.

Stablecoins and Institutional Infrastructure

Stablecoin technology forms a major part of discussions surrounding global settlements and corporate cash management.

Sessions will compare single-issuer setups with multi-entity consortium models while highlighting practical enterprise applications for Ripple USDRLUSD-0.14%.

Ahead of the conference, eligible institutional clients gained access to safeguard RLUSD issued on the XRP Ledger through Standard Chartered's custody service, which was introduced on Oct. 12.

This custody solution operates out of Standard Chartered's branch in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), located in the United Arab Emirates.

Regulatory frameworks continue to shape institutional adoption of digital assets. Back in September, Ripple outlined how reserve requirements, capital rules, and supervisory obligations impact token protections for holders.

Under a planned collateral structure with institutional exchange operator LMAX Group, eligible RLUSD holdings could support trading activities while remaining safely stored in Standard Chartered's custody.

This setup allows token values to be reflected on LMAX without needing to transfer custody of the underlying tokens. Standard Chartered noted that these features depend on legal documentation, system testing, applicable regulations, internal approvals, and local regulatory readiness.