Ripple Swell 2026 Unites Finance and Blockchain Leaders

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Ripple held its tenth annual Swell conference from October 27 to 29, 2026, at The Shed in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards district, bringing together finance executives, developers and researchers. Ripple had announced an expected attendance of 1,500.

According to Ripple’s official conference website, the event took place at The Shed, 545 West 30th Street, New York City. It combined the flagship executive summit with the developer-focused Apex assembly and the University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) Connect forum.

Three Tracks Connect Finance and Technology

The combined event brought financial institutions, XRP Ledger developers and university researchers into three programming tracks, connecting institutional adoption with technical development and academic research.

Ripple organised the programme into Institutional, Ecosystem and Innovation tracks, covering capital markets, XRP Ledger development, cryptography and emerging financial technology.

According to Ripple’s official announcement, CEO Brad Garlinghouse hosted discussions featuring Tom Farley, Chairman and CEO of Bullish, alongside Water.org co-founders Matt Damon and Gary White.

Robinhood Crypto General Manager Johann Kerbrat also joined Ripple President Monica Long to discuss the relationship between retail and institutional digital asset infrastructure.

Institutional Adoption and Regulatory Challenges

The programme also covered regulation, digital asset custody, stablecoins and AI-driven finance. These discussions addressed the challenges facing institutions considering blockchain-based financial services.

The conference also featured representatives from CME Group, ICE and BNY, reflecting Ripple’s focus on connecting blockchain development with established financial markets.

The Innovation Track explored cryptographic research and autonomous AI applications, while the Ecosystem Track addressed XRP Ledger development and validator governance. The conference brought these technical discussions into the same programme as financial market policy and institutional settlement.