Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has pushed back against claims that the company is moving away from $XRP.
He said Ripple remains the party most invested in the token’s long-term success. Garlinghouse shared this view during an interview with journalist Eleanor Terrett at the $XRP Las Vegas conference.
Key Points
- Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse says Ripple remains the largest $XRP holder and fully committed to $XRP’s success.
- He says $XRP focus remains utility, liquidity, and trust across global financial institutions.
- Garlinghouse rejects claims Ripple is moving away from $XRP, calling them “funny and strange”.
- Ripple expands Treasury and XRPL vision, seeing future blockchain growth as a multi-chain ecosystem.
‘Funny and Strange’ to Question Ripple’s Commitment
Garlinghouse said he finds it “funny and strange” that some people still question Ripple’s commitment to $XRP. He stressed that, as Ripple continues to hold more $XRP than anyone else in the world, the company remains deeply aligned with the asset’s success.
“Ripple is still the largest holder of $XRP on the planet,” Garlinghouse said. “We are the most interested party in seeing $XRP succeed.”
Ripple Says $XRP Remains Central to Its Strategy
Garlinghouse explained that Ripple’s strategy focuses on improving $XRP’s utility, liquidity, and trust across the financial industry. He said the company always seeks means to make $XRP “the most useful digital asset” while selling services and products to financial institutions and capital markets globally.
The Ripple CEO also addressed concerns that Ripple’s stablecoin initiatives could eventually replace $XRP. Those concerns grew after Ripple expanded deeper into the stablecoin and treasury sectors.
Garlinghouse said some of Ripple’s moves may not immediately appear connected to $XRP, but insisted they ultimately support the ecosystem indirectly.
He explained that not every business decision follows a straight path from “point A to point B”. However, Ripple’s long-term objective remains centered on increasing $XRP liquidity, adoption, and trust.
Ripple Treasury Expansion and Rivalry
During the interview, Garlinghouse revealed that Ripple Treasury has been expanding aggressively. According to him, Ripple placed $XRP and Ripple Treasury advertisements across the Las Vegas Strip while rival Kyriba was hosting its own customer conference nearby.
Garlinghouse said Ripple even deployed wrapped buses promoting Ripple Treasury to transport attendees from the competing conference venue, drawing laughter from the audience.
He also noted that Ripple now has roughly 1,500 employees and described 2026 as a “record year” for the company across several areas.
$XRP Ledger Vision Still Expanding
Garlinghouse also discussed broader opportunities for the $XRP Ledger Foundation and the $XRP Ledger ecosystem beyond Ripple itself.
He said many future blockchain use cases may develop independently of Ripple in areas such as tokenization and bond settlement.
Garlinghouse praised David Schwartz and early $XRP Ledger developers for designing what he described as one of the first decentralized exchanges with built-in tokenization features more than a decade ago.
He pointed to bond settlement as one example of a traditional financial system that remains outdated and inefficient. In his view, moving such systems on-chain is inevitable over time.
At the same time, Garlinghouse emphasized that the future will likely be “multi-chain”. While the $XRP Ledger excels in some areas, other blockchains may perform better in others.
According to him, Ripple is open to helping accelerate real-world blockchain adoption wherever the $XRP Ledger can provide value.
