XRP Price Surges 7% as Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse Reveals 2026 Plans

XRP price makes a spectacular over 7% jump on the last day of the 2025 Ripple Swell event. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse quoted it as “finishing strong” amid $500 million raise at $40 billion valuation, partnership with Mastercard and Gemini, and products such as Prime brokerage.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse Makes Major Announcements

During a final keynote at the Swell event, Brad Garlinghouse talked about what’s ahead for Ripple and XRP, key trends to watch in 2026, and plans to double down on crypto infrastructure for financial utility.

The vision is to continue advocating for the growth of the crypto industry and crypto regulations, including the Crypto Market Structure Bill, and boosting institutional interest. The passing of the Clarity Act would make sweeping changes to the oversight of digital assets.

After four acquisitions this year, including Palisade wallet and custody firm, Ripple to continue advancing as the leading blockchain infrastructure company. Brad Garlinghouse said the company will slow down the acquisition binge in 2026, with no plans to enter the crypto exchange business.

Ripple IPO Plans

Brad Garlinhouse revealed that the company has a “really healthy balance sheet” and an IPO is not a priority currently. Other crypto firms are going public to raise capital amid the pro-crypto Trump administration. Ripple focused on pushing into other lines of business, including crypto assets custody, prime brokerage, and corporate treasury management.

Meanwhile, Ripple has raised $500 million to reach the $40 billion valuation, as announced during the event. Fortress Investment, affiliates of Citadel Securities, Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, Brevan Howard, and Marshall Wace led the investment round.

Brad Garlinghouse Comments on XRP Price

Garlinghouse asserted that the XRP ecosystem remains a key focus as they aim to build trust, utility, and liquidity on XRP. Funds have flowed into XRP after gaining clarity in the legal lawsuit and regulation. Institutional investors will come after the Crypto Market Structure Bill and spot XRP ETF.

He predicted XRP price rally after spot ETFs start trading, potentially next week. He compared institutional interest in Ethereum (ETH) after the approval of the Ethereum ETF. Notably, Ripple has also applied for a national bank charter with the OCC and a Federal Reserve Master Account through its subsidiary Standard Custody.

XRP Price Upside Momentum Gains Pace

XRP price jumped 7% in the past 24 hours, with the price currently trading at $2.35. The intraday low and high are $2.21 and $2.40, respectively. However, trading volume has decreased by 44% in the last 24 hours.

CoinGlass data showed buying in the derivatives market. At the time of writing, the total XRP futures open interest jumped 2% to $3.51 billion in the last 24 hours. XRP futures OI on CME and Binance climbed more than 2% and 1%, respectively, signaling positive sentiment among derivatives traders.