Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated that with a significant increase in trading volume and business activities, 2026 will be an "extraordinary" year for the company.
Garlinghouse emphasizes that in the past year, the company's trading volume has soared significantly, indicating an increasing demand from the market for its blockchain-based financial infrastructure.
He also reiterated his plans for XRP, stating that he expects this cryptocurrency to ultimately become the “gold standard” for institutional-level encrypted payment channels. However, Garlinghouse also acknowledges that XRP may not be suitable for all financial transactions.
The Future of Ripple and XRP
Garlinghouse clearly states that Ripple will continue to use XRP in those scenarios where it has a clear advantage. He said that this is a reasonable business choice for the company.
Garlinghouse believes that XRP does not necessarily need to bear all transactions on the Ripple infrastructure, and the business model of Ripple can still be established.
"We believe that XRP is very efficient in certain use cases. Perhaps not in others. But that's okay," he said.
The CEO of Ripple stated that even if XRP is only used in a small portion of customer transactions, he would be completely acceptable with that.
"That's also good. It still means I've got a share of the pie," he added.
“Sometimes I think people get too caught up in how big the cake is and how big the piece they get to cut off is,” he also said.
From these statements, it seems that Garlinghouse is implying that Ripple has a very pragmatic approach to the use of XRP. The company is focused on expanding its business and seeking out real-world application scenarios where XRP can be truly beneficial.
Meanwhile, Ripple, a retired chief technology officer and one of the co-founders of XRP Ledger, has made bold predictions about the future of blockchain technology.
When asked about his views on XRP and Ripple in 5 years, Schwartz believes that the adoption by mass retail will come to pass.
He also predicts that blockchain technology will become as widespread in the future as the internet and will become a similarly fundamental aspect of life.
Ripple A massive Swell conference
The optimistic stance of Garlinghouse coincides with Ripple holding its largest event in New York – the 10th edition of the Swell conference, which takes place from October 27th to 29th.
The conference has announced a number of messages, demonstrating Ripple's growing ambitions in the field of institutional finance.
The most notable aspect was the attendance of the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He sat down with Garlinghouse to discuss digital assets and the future of the U.S. financial system.
Ripple also announced a significant collaboration with Robinhood to promote more applications of RLUSD stablecoins and infrastructure. This collaboration focuses on institutional settlement, principal brokerage services, and fund management purposes.
The company has also deepened its relationship with banking giant BNY. The expanded cooperation includes digital asset custody, as well as tokenized trade financing using XRP, RLUSD, and XRP Ledger.
In addition, the Federal Reserve Board of the United States ( Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ) has finally approved the last regulatory hurdle for Ripple National Trust Bank.
At the same time, Coinbase also agrees to increase the availability of RLUSD on its retail and institutional platforms.
All of these announcements are accompanied by impressive growth figures disclosed by Ripple.
The company stated that Ripple is expected to achieve annual product revenue of approximately $900 million by the end of 2026. In addition, Ripple reported that the number of customers and partners using multiple products in its continuously expanding product line has increased by three times.
The financial infrastructure of this company is used by over 1,700 institutions, companies, and enterprises.
With these advancements continuously being implemented, it is not surprising that Garlinghouse holds a strongly optimistic attitude towards the future of Ripple, as the company is striving to secure a place in the rapidly changing landscape of financial services.
