Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan Takes Center Stage at Ripple Swell 2026

Summary

• Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan will headline Ripple’s Swell 2026 opening Institutional Summit in New York City.
• Ripple will combine Swell and XRPL Apex, connecting financial institutions with developers building applications across the broader XRP Ledger ecosystem.
• More than 1,500 attendees and 75 speakers will cover payments, digital assets, capital markets, academia, and blockchain infrastructure key topics.

 

Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan will open Ripple’s Swell 2026 conference as its headline institutional speaker. According to the event announcement, Rajan will appear during the Institutional Summit scheduled for October 27 in New York City.

The three-day conference will run through October 29 at The Shed, bringing together leaders from finance and blockchain development. Rajan currently teaches finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and holds a distinguished service professorship.

Additionally, he co-leads a Federal Reserve task force studying the costs and institutional implications of its balance sheet policy. His earlier roles include serving as India’s central bank governor and chief economist at the International Monetary Fund.

Rajan also served as vice chairman of the Bank for International Settlements, strengthening his background in international financial coordination. Consequently, his appearance introduces a central banking perspective into Ripple’s conversations about payments, tokenization, digital assets, and financial infrastructure.

The selection reflects Swell’s growing emphasis on connecting established financial institutions with companies building blockchain-based products and services. Rajan’s opening address will establish the institutional theme before executives, developers, and academics participate in wider conference sessions.

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Ripple Unites Institutional Finance and XRPL Development Under One Program

Ripple will combine Swell with XRPL Apex, its developer-focused event, within one conference program for the first time. The expanded format will connect institutional decision-makers with developers building infrastructure and applications across the XRP Ledger ecosystem.

Organizers expect more than 1,500 attendees, at least 75 speakers, and over 50 sessions across three stages. Moreover, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, President Monica Long, and CTO Emeritus David Schwartz will feature prominently during the conference.

Water.org co-founder Matt Damon will also participate alongside Bullish Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tom Farley. Robinhood crypto executive Johann Kerbrat will represent the exchange sector within sessions covering digital assets and financial market development.

Meanwhile, Tradeweb CEO Billy Hult will add experience from institutional trading and electronic financial marketplaces. BNY Global Markets executive Laide Majiyagbe will contribute a banking viewpoint to discussions involving tokenization and modern market infrastructure.

Michael Blaugrund from Intercontinental Exchange and Susquehanna Crypto CEO Chase Lax will strengthen the capital markets presence. PEAK6 co-founder Jenny Just will also bring experience covering investment operations, financial technology, and trading businesses.

Representatives from the XRP Ledger Foundation and XRPL Commons will connect those institutional conversations with the network’s development community. Brett Mollin will represent the XRP Ledger Foundation, while David Bchiri will participate on behalf of XRPL Commons.

Furthermore, academics from Columbia, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Wharton, and several international universities will join the event. Universities from Luxembourg, Birmingham, Trento, and San Francisco will expand discussions beyond commercial cryptocurrency markets.

By combining both conferences, Ripple will place institutional adoption and XRPL development within one shared environment. Rajan’s role strengthens that approach by connecting central banking experience with conversations concerning blockchain’s place within global finance.

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