Key Takeaways
- Ripple expects more than 1,500 attendees and over 75 speakers.
- Robinhood, BNY, and ICE executives have joined the conference.
- Swell and XRPL Apex will operate as one event for the first time.
Ripple Adds Finance and Crypto Executives
Ripple confirmed an expanded conference program for its Swell 2026 in New York, with more than 1,500 attendees, over 75 speakers, and 50-plus sessions expected across three stages from Oct. 27-29. Swell shared the latest additions on X on Aug. 13 as financial institutions increase their involvement in blockchain payments, stablecoins, tokenization, and digital asset infrastructure.
The updated Swell 2026 speaker lineup includes Robinhood Senior Vice President and General Manager of Crypto Johann Kerbrat, BNY Global Head of Markets Laide Majiyagbe, and Intercontinental Exchange Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Michael Blaugrund. Featured participants also include Water.org co-founder Matt Damon, Bullish Chairman and CEO Tom Farley, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and Ripple President Monica Long.
Other confirmed speakers represent Tradeweb, PwC, State Street, Amazon Web Services, Canary Capital, the XRP Ledger Foundation, and several universities. Former Reserve Bank of India Gov. Raghuram Rajan, Ripple Chief Technology Officer Emeritus David Schwartz and Tradeweb CEO Billy Hult are among the featured participants, while Ripple said further additions remain pending.
Swell and XRPL Apex Combine for First Time
The 2026 conference will unite Ripple’s institution-focused Swell event with XRPL Apex, a developer gathering centered on the XRP Ledger. Ripple previously described the combined program as its largest Swell event to date, bringing financial executives, developers, researchers, investors, and community members into one conference structure.




