Ripple has added former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan to the opening program for Swell 2026, its annual conference focused on payments, digital assets and financial infrastructure.
Summary
- Raghuram Rajan will open Ripple Swell week during an invitation-only institutional summit on October 27.
- Swell 2026 runs from October 27 through 29 at The Shed in Manhattan, New York.
- Ripple will combine Swell and XRPL Apex for the first time across three conference stages.
- Organizers expect more than 1,500 attendees, 75 speakers and 50 sessions across the three-day program.
- Rajan co-leads a Federal Reserve task force reviewing costs and benefits of balance sheet policy.
The company announced on Sept. 4 that Rajan will participate in the Institutional Summit on Oct. 27. The invitation-only gathering will open Swell week before the wider conference program runs through Oct. 29.
Swell 2026 will take place at The Shed in New York City. Ripple is combining Swell with its developer-focused XRPL Apex conference for the first time, bringing institutional finance and XRP Ledger development into one event.
Ripple has not disclosed Rajan’s discussion topic, session time or appearance format. The event website lists him as a speaker but does not indicate whether he will deliver a keynote, join a panel or participate in a moderated discussion.
Ripple Swell begins with an institutional summit
The Institutional Summit is scheduled for Oct. 27 and requires prospective attendees to request an invitation. Ripple is positioning the program toward representatives of banks, asset managers, payment companies and other financial institutions.
Rajan brings experience spanning central banking, international finance and academic research. He led the Reserve Bank of India from September 2013 until September 2016 and previously served as chief economist of the International Monetary Fund.
He is currently the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Ripple’s official lineup identifies Rajan by his academic position.
His addition gives the summit a direct central banking perspective as financial institutions examine stablecoins, tokenized assets and blockchain-based settlement. However, Ripple has not said whether Rajan will address any of those specific subjects.
The speaker announcement also does not indicate that Rajan is advising Ripple, endorsing XRP or supporting any company product. His confirmed involvement is limited to participating in the conference program.
Rajan also co-leads a Federal Reserve policy review
Rajan’s appearance comes as he serves as one of three external leaders of the Federal Reserve’s Balance Sheet Policy task force. Harvard professors Karen Dynan and Jeremy Stein are the other leaders.
The Federal Reserve established the group to examine the costs, benefits and institutional consequences of its current balance sheet regime. The central bank said the task force would operate independently with support from Federal Reserve staff.
Its findings are intended for the Federal Open Market Committee. The group is one of five task forces examining areas including monetary policy communication, inflation frameworks, economic data, productivity and employment.
Rajan’s position on the task force does not make him a Federal Reserve official or policymaker. He serves as an external adviser alongside other economists, former central bankers and business leaders.
The task force role nevertheless adds a current U.S. monetary policy connection to his Swell appearance. The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet affects bank reserves and financial-market liquidity, subjects that overlap with institutional discussions about new settlement infrastructure.
No official source has connected Rajan’s Federal Reserve work with his participation at Swell. Any suggestion that his appearance represents Federal Reserve involvement in Ripple’s conference would therefore be unsupported.
Swell 2026 combines institutional and developer programs
Ripple expects more than 1,500 people to attend Swell 2026. The organizer is advertising more than 75 speakers and over 50 sessions across three stages.
Those figures are conference projections and may change before October. Ripple continues to add speakers, while the complete session-by-session schedule has not yet been published.
The 2026 program will combine Swell and XRPL Apex. Swell has traditionally focused on institutional payments, regulation and capital markets. XRPL Apex has centered on developers, researchers and companies building on the XRP Ledger.
Bringing the events together gives institutional participants access to technical sessions while allowing developers to hear directly from banks, exchanges and market-infrastructure providers.
The announced subjects include stablecoins, tokenization, payments, exchange-traded funds, decentralized finance, privacy, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and XRP Ledger development.
The combined Swell and XRPL Apex program will also feature actor and Water.org co-founder Matt Damon. Ripple previously named Damon as a keynote speaker but has not disclosed the subject or timing of his address.
Ripple’s lineup spans banking, markets and technology
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, President Monica Long and CTO Emeritus David Schwartz are included in the speaker lineup. Their session topics have not all been published.
Other listed speakers include Bullish Chairman and CEO Tom Farley, Tradeweb CEO Billy Hult and Susquehanna Crypto CEO Chase Lax. BNY Global Head of Markets Laide Majiyagbe and Intercontinental Exchange executive Michael Blaugrund are also scheduled to participate.
Robinhood’s crypto business will be represented by Johann Kerbrat. The roster also includes Jenny Just, co-founder of financial technology company PEAK6, and Gary White, CEO and co-founder of Water.org.
The official speaker page lists Nasdaq Chair and CEO Adena Friedman, New York State Department of Financial Services official John Melican and U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres. Patrick Witt, executive director of the White House President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, is also listed.
Participants from the XRP Ledger ecosystem include representatives of the XRPL Foundation, XRPL Commons and related development organizations. Academics from Chicago Booth, Columbia, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Wharton and several European universities appear on the roster.
Their inclusion does not indicate endorsement of Ripple or its products. It reflects the range of speakers that Ripple has scheduled for discussions across finance, policy and blockchain development.
The complete Swell agenda remains pending
The next confirmed step is publication of the detailed conference agenda. Ripple still needs to disclose Rajan’s session title, timing and format.
The same uncertainty applies to several other announced speakers. Conference listings confirm their planned participation but do not reveal what they will discuss.
Swell 2026 begins with the Institutional Summit on Oct. 27. The main conference and XRPL Apex sessions will continue through Oct. 29 at The Shed, located in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards district.
Standard registration is listed through Oct. 5, followed by a final registration period ending Oct. 20. Access to the Institutional Summit is handled separately through an invitation request.
Rajan’s participation adds a former central bank governor and current Federal Reserve task force adviser to Ripple’s expanding lineup. The substance of his appearance will become clearer once Ripple publishes the full agenda.