Key Highlights
- Swell 2026 merges Ripple’s Swell and Apex conferences into a three-day event in New York (October 27–29) with over 100 speakers and 80 sessions.
- High-profile speakers include Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, CME Group’s Terrence Duffy, Bullish CEO Tom Farley, actor Matt Damon, and executives from BNY, Coinbase, Robinhood, Barclays, State Street, and Jump Trading.
- Agenda focuses on institutional crypto adoption: tokenized real-world assets, stablecoin infrastructure, AI-driven payments, post-quantum security, and the first year of spot XRP ETFs.
Swell 2026 Agenda Unveiled: Ripple Merges Flagship Conferences for New York Event
Ripple has published the full agenda for Swell 2026, a three-day conference running October 27–29 in New York City that combines the company’s Swell and Apex events for the first time. The program features more than 100 speakers across 80 sessions and three stages, targeting the intersection of traditional finance and blockchain infrastructure.
The announcement was made via the official Swell X account on September 16, 2026:
The Swell 2026 agenda is live.Join us in New York, October 27–29, with Brad Garlinghouse, Terrence Duffy of CME Group, Tom Farley of Bullish, Matt Damon of @Water, leaders from @BNYglobal, @coinbase, @RobinhoodApp, @Barclays, @StateStreet, @jumptrading and many more.See the…
— Swell (@RippleSwell) September 16, 2026
Speaker Lineup Bridges Traditional Finance and Crypto
The roster reflects Ripple’s strategy of convening decision-makers from both established financial institutions and digital-asset natives. Confirmed participants include:
- Brad Garlinghouse, CEO, Ripple
- Terrence Duffy, Chairman and CEO, CME Group
- Tom Farley, CEO, Bullish
- Matt Damon, Actor and Co-founder, Water.org
- Senior leaders from BNY, Coinbase, Robinhood, Barclays, State Street, and Jump Trading
Three Thematic Tracks Define the Program
Content is organized around three core pillars that signal where institutional crypto is heading:
Liquidity and Settlement
Sessions will examine how blockchain rails are reshaping cross-border payments, wholesale settlement, and the role of regulated market infrastructure.
Tokenization of Real-World Assets
A major focus on bringing traditional assets—treasuries, commodities, credit—on-chain with bank-grade compliance and custody.
Stablecoins in Bank-Grade Production
Practical discussions on issuance, regulation, interoperability, and adoption by financial institutions.
Day 1 Highlights: Opening Remarks, AI Agents, and XRPL Roadmap
The opening day packs several high-signal sessions:
- Brad Garlinghouse delivers opening remarks followed by a 20-minute conversation.
- Monica Long, Ripple President, converses with Johann Kerbrat, SVP and GM of Crypto at Robinhood.
- Terrence Duffy (CME Group) takes the main stage for a dedicated conversation.
- Aanchal Malhotra, Ripple research scientist, presents on the next frontier for XRPL research.
- Jasmine Cooper, Head of Product at RippleX, outlines the XRPL roadmap for building an institutional DeFi stack.
- Panel “What Happens When AI Moves Money” features Massimo Cervesato (Mastercard), Nilesh Dusane (AWS), Henri Stern (Privy co-founder), and Edward Woodford (ZeroHash) on AI agents, crypto infrastructure, and payments.
- Mayukha Vadari, Ripple software engineer, introduces a new paradigm for building on the XRP Ledger with “smart features.”
- David Schwartz, Ripple CTO Emeritus, and JA Akinyele discuss “Building What’s Next for XRPL.”
- Jack McDonald, Ripple SVP of Stablecoins, and Brett Tejpaul, Coinbase Institutional co-CEO, cover advancement of crypto infrastructure.
Day 2: Garlinghouse and Farley on Stage
Day two features a main-stage conversation between Brad Garlinghouse and Tom Farley, CEO of Bullish, offering further insights into exchange infrastructure and institutional market structure.
Additional Agenda Themes
Beyond the day-one highlights, the program also addresses:
- The first year of spot XRP ETFs — market dynamics, flows, and regulatory evolution.
- AI agents that move money — autonomous economic agents, payment rails, and risk frameworks.
- Post-quantum security — preparing blockchain cryptography for quantum-era threats.
Why This Matters
Swell 2026 signals a maturation milestone for enterprise blockchain adoption. By merging Swell (Ripple’s traditional finance-focused conference) with Apex (its developer-centric event), Ripple is explicitly positioning the XRP Ledger and its associated infrastructure—stablecoins, tokenization, custody—as production-ready for banks, asset managers, and market infrastructure providers. The speaker roster, heavy on C-suite executives from CME Group, BNY, Barclays, State Street, and major crypto exchanges, indicates that institutional deployment is moving from pilot to scale. Agenda topics like spot XRP ETFs, AI-agent payments, and post-quantum cryptography reflect the three vectors—capital markets, automation, and long-term security—that will define the next phase of crypto integration into global finance.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where is Swell 2026 taking place?
Swell 2026 runs October 27–29, 2026, in New York City. It combines Ripple’s Swell and Apex conferences into a single three-day event.
Who are the headline speakers?
Key speakers include Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, CME Group Chairman Terrence Duffy, Bullish CEO Tom Farley, actor Matt Damon (Water.org), and executives from BNY, Coinbase, Robinhood, Barclays, State Street, and Jump Trading.
What are the main themes on the agenda?
The program centers on liquidity and settlement, tokenization of real-world assets, and stablecoins in bank-grade production. Additional tracks cover the first year of spot XRP ETFs, AI agents that move money, post-quantum security, and the XRP Ledger roadmap.
