Ripple CEO denies speculation of abandoning XRP, stablecoin expansion to enhance liquidity

According to Korean tech media Digital Today, on May 11, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse denied market speculation that Ripple is gradually distancing itself from XRP at the “XRPL Las Vegas” event on May 9. He emphasized that the long-term goal of expanding stablecoin and enterprise financing businesses is to increase XRP liquidity and improve financial institutions’ trust.

Brad Garlinghouse Denies XRP Marginalization Claims

According to a report by The Crypto Basic, Garlinghouse said at the XRPL Las Vegas event, “Ripple holds the most XRP in the world, and it’s also the company that most wants XRP to succeed.” He described outside speculation that Ripple is shunning XRP as “absurd and laughable.”

Garlinghouse explained that even if some business decisions appear in the short term to have no direct connection to XRP, the long-term goal is still to improve XRP liquidity, adoption, and financial institutions’ trust. He said the core of Ripple’s strategy is to explore how to make XRP the “most useful digital asset,” while continuing to provide products and services to financial institutions and capital markets worldwide. He also explicitly denied the view that the stablecoin business will replace XRP.

Ripple Treasury Expansion and Corporate Scale

According to Digital Today, at the event Garlinghouse revealed that Ripple is actively expanding its enterprise financing business “Ripple Treasury.” It has placed XRP and Ripple Treasury advertisements near the Las Vegas Strip, and used buses with Ripple Treasury ads to shuttle attendees to customer events of Ripple’s competitor Kyriba.

Garlinghouse also said Ripple currently has about 1,500 employees, and called 2026 the “record-breaking year” for multiple business divisions under the company, though he did not disclose specific performance figures.

XRP Book Ecosystem Expansion and Multi-Chain Development Outlook

According to a report by The Crypto Basic, Garlinghouse mentioned that the XRP Ledger Foundation is structurally independent from Ripple, and stressed that the XRP Ledger ecosystem has expansion potential in areas such as tokenization and bond settlement. He cited the inefficiency of traditional financial bond settlement systems as an example, saying that the shift to on-chain settlement in those areas is only a matter of time.

Garlinghouse also said that the architecture designed by David Schwartz and the early XRP Ledger development team more than ten years ago already includes decentralized exchange (DEX) and tokenization functionality. He added that the future development of the blockchain industry will not be limited to a single chain, but is highly likely to evolve toward a multi-chain environment.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Garlinghouse say in response to XRP speculation at the XRPL Las Vegas event?

Based on reports from The Crypto Basic and Digital Today, on May 9, 2026, Garlinghouse clearly denied speculation that Ripple is distancing itself from XRP, calling it “absurd and laughable,” and reiterated that Ripple holds the most XRP in the world, with a long-term goal of improving XRP liquidity, adoption, and trust.

Is Ripple’s stablecoin business planned to replace XRP?

According to Garlinghouse’s statements at the XRPL Las Vegas event (as reported by The Crypto Basic), he explicitly denied the view that the stablecoin business would replace XRP, saying that even if individual business decisions do not directly involve XRP in the short term, the long-term goal is still to support the entire ecosystem.

How does Garlinghouse view the future development of XRP Ledger?

According to Digital Today, Garlinghouse said that the XRP Ledger Foundation is organizationally independent from Ripple, and believes that application areas such as tokenization and bond settlement have expansion potential on XRP Ledger. He also pointed out that the overall direction of development for the blockchain industry is toward a multi-chain environment rather than being led by a single chain.