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Ripple CEO says XRP can become institutional gold standard within five years
At Ripple Swell, Brad Garlinghouse said XRP could anchor institutional crypto payments, while David Schwartz predicted broad retail adoption.
Key takeaways
- Five-year view. Garlinghouse expects XRP to keep growing as an institutional rail, while saying not every payment will use it.
- Stablecoin role. RLUSD is meant to complement XRP; about half its supply is on the XRP Ledger, and XRP can bridge currency pairs.
- Adoption gap. Ripple reported over $16 trillion in 2025 transaction activity, but 99.9% still used traditional rails; Garlinghouse hopes 1% to 3% moves onchain.
What happened
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse used Ripple Swell 2026 in New York to argue that XRP can become the institutional gold standard for crypto rails over the next five years. In a video recorded at the event and shared on Oct. 28, he said XRP would continue to break out in that role as Ripple moves beyond cross-border payments into custody, corporate treasury management, prime brokerage and institutional trading. The remarks were reported by Bitcoin.com News and Bitcoinist.
Garlinghouse's outlook was not a claim that every Ripple transaction will use XRP. He said some payments are better handled with traditional currencies or Ripple's dollar-backed stablecoin, RLUSD, and that Ripple aims to give institutions several options. He added that he would rather see XRP used for a small share of a customer's transactions than for none.
David Schwartz, Ripple's CTO emeritus and a board member, answered the same five-year question with a retail-focused vision. He predicted blockchain could become as accessible as the internet and said it could shape how people manage money, receive payments, invest, lend and borrow. The discussion also linked tokenized real-world assets to that path.
First $1.49Latest $1.25-16.1% over the period
Points are daily observations, not closing prices.
Why it matters
The distinction between Ripple's corporate growth and XRP demand is central to the discussion. Ripple is signing up institutional customers and expanding its product set, but a new partnership does not by itself guarantee XRP transaction volume. Garlinghouse has described RLUSD as a complement rather than a replacement for XRP, noting that roughly half of the stablecoin's circulating supply is issued on the XRP Ledger, which can add network activity and liquidity. He also said XRP can serve as a bridge asset between different currency pairs, a role a dollar-denominated stablecoin may not fill in every corridor. For readers tracking the institutional adoption narrative, that makes usage, not just partnership announcements, the metric to watch.
What the data shows
Ripple's disclosure put the adoption gap in concrete terms: of more than $16 trillion in 2025 transaction activity, Garlinghouse said 99.9% still used traditional rails. He said he hoped to report a year later that 1%, 2% or 3% had moved onchain, calling those "massive numbers to move onchain." The $900 million figure is an annualized product revenue run-rate target for the end of 2026, not a completed annual result. On the stablecoin side, Garlinghouse said about half of RLUSD's circulating supply is issued on the XRP Ledger.
Background
Ripple used an Oct. 28 company update to outline the business context for the five-year outlook. It said it expects to reach a $900 million annualized product revenue run rate by the end of 2026, a projection rather than revenue already booked. Ripple also said its products supported more than $16 trillion in transaction activity during 2025, though much of that activity still ran on traditional financial infrastructure. The company has expanded relationships with BNY, Robinhood and Coinbase, and Bitcoin.com News reported that Ripple secured final federal approval for its national trust bank, advancing plans for RLUSD reserve management and enterprise services. Garlinghouse also discussed XRP and RLUSD in an Oct. 28 Bloomberg interview.
What to watch
Whether Garlinghouse's five-year view becomes reality will depend on factors Ripple does not control alone: regulatory clarity, dependable blockchain infrastructure and products that offer clear advantages over existing financial systems. The more immediate test is whether Ripple's institutional partnerships translate into frequent XRP use and sufficient liquidity, and whether any meaningful share of the $16 trillion in transaction activity actually shifts onchain. Ripple's national trust bank approval and its expanded custody and treasury products may also shape how institutions use RLUSD and XRP alongside traditional rails. The reports frame the CEO's comments as an outlook on utility, not a guaranteed price outcome.
Questions readers ask
What did Brad Garlinghouse predict about XRP?
He said XRP could continue to break out as the institutional gold standard for crypto rails over the next five years, while acknowledging that some transactions are better suited to fiat or RLUSD. The comment was about utility and adoption, not a guaranteed price forecast.
How does RLUSD relate to XRP?
Garlinghouse describes RLUSD as complementary. About half of its circulating supply is issued on the XRP Ledger, which can add activity and liquidity, while XRP can act as a bridge between currency pairs.
What adoption measure is Ripple watching?
Garlinghouse highlighted the share of transaction activity that could move onchain. Ripple said its products supported over $16 trillion in 2025 activity, with 99.9% still on traditional rails; he hopes 1% to 3% could shift.
