Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan will serve as the opening keynote speaker at Ripple Swell's Institutional Summit, opening the three-day New York conference on October 27. According to reports from Ripple, the invitation-only institutional summit will run before the wider conference program through October 29 at The Shed in Manhattan. The company announced Rajan's participation on September 4, positioning the program toward representatives of banks, asset managers, payment companies and other financial institutions.
Swell 2026 will combine Swell with its developer-focused XRPL Apex conference for the first time, bringing institutional finance and XRP Ledger development into one event. As reported by Ripple, the company expects more than 1,500 attendees, 75 speakers and 50 sessions across the three-day program. The 2026 program will include subjects such as stablecoins, tokenization, payments, exchange-traded funds, decentralized finance, privacy, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and XRP Ledger development. This adjustment means Ripple is now combining institutional-focused discussions with XRPL ecosystem showcases in a single event, aiming to broaden the event's reach and strengthen its connections with traditional finance and on-chain infrastructure participants.
Rajan brings extensive experience spanning central banking, international finance and academic research to the conference. According to Ripple, 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 currently serves as the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he co-leads the Federal Reserve Balance Sheet Policy Working Group. His addition gives the summit a direct central banking perspective as financial institutions examine stablecoins, tokenized assets and blockchain-based settlement, though Ripple has not disclosed his specific discussion topic.
Rajan currently co-leads a Federal Reserve task force reviewing costs and benefits of balance sheet policy alongside Harvard professors Karen Dynan and Jeremy Stein. As reported by Ripple, the Federal Reserve established the group to examine the costs, benefits and institutional consequences of its current balance sheet regime, with findings intended for the Federal Open Market Committee. His position on the task force adds a current U.S. monetary policy connection to his Swell appearance, though Ripple has not confirmed whether he will address specific subjects related to the Federal Reserve's balance sheet.
The conference will feature Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, President Monica Long and CTO Emeritus David Schwartz alongside other industry leaders. According to Ripple, confirmed speakers include Bullish Chairman and CEO Tom Farley, Tradeweb CEO Billy Hult, and Susquehanna Crypto CEO Chase Lax. The lineup also includes representatives from major financial institutions such as BNY, Intercontinental Exchange, Robinhood, and Nasdaq, along with academics from multiple universities and XRP Ledger ecosystem participants.
