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.
Rajan is scheduled to participate in Ripple’s invitation-only Institutional Summit on Oct. 27, which will open Swell week ahead of the broader conference program running through Oct. 29. The event will take place at The Shed in Manhattan, New York.
Ripple is combining Swell with its developer-focused XRPL Apex conference for the first time, bringing institutional finance and XRP Ledger development together across three stages. Organizers expect more than 1,500 attendees, 75 speakers and 50 sessions during the three-day event.
Ripple has not yet disclosed Rajan’s session topic, timing or format. His listing does not specify whether he will deliver a keynote, participate in a panel or join a moderated discussion.
The Institutional Summit is designed for representatives from banks, asset managers, payment companies and other financial institutions. Rajan brings experience in central banking, international finance and academia, having served as RBI governor from September 2013 to September 2016 and previously as chief economist of the International Monetary Fund.
He is now the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His participation provides a central banking perspective as financial institutions examine areas such as stablecoins, tokenized assets and blockchain-based settlement, although Ripple has not said whether Rajan will specifically address those topics.
His conference appearance also does not establish that he advises Ripple, endorses XRP or supports any of the company’s products. His confirmed role is limited to participating in the Swell program.
Rajan’s participation comes while he serves as one of three external leaders of a Federal Reserve task force examining balance sheet policy. Harvard professors Karen Dynan and Jeremy Stein are the other leaders.
The Federal Reserve created the task force to assess the costs, benefits and institutional implications of its current balance sheet framework. Its findings are intended for the Federal Open Market Committee, with Federal Reserve staff providing support.
Rajan’s role on the task force does not make him a Federal Reserve official or policymaker. He serves as an external adviser alongside economists, former central bankers and business leaders.
The position does, however, give his Swell appearance a connection to current U.S. monetary policy discussions. The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet influences bank reserves and financial-market liquidity, issues that can overlap with institutional discussions about payment and settlement infrastructure.
There is no indication from official sources that Rajan’s Federal Reserve work is connected to his participation in Ripple’s conference. His appearance should therefore not be interpreted as Federal Reserve involvement in Swell.
Ripple expects more than 1,500 people at Swell 2026, with the company advertising more than 75 speakers and over 50 sessions across three stages. Those figures are conference projections and could change as the event approaches.
The combined program will bring together Swell’s traditional focus on institutional payments, regulation and capital markets with XRPL Apex’s emphasis on developers, researchers and companies building on the XRP Ledger.
The announced agenda covers stablecoins, tokenization, payments, exchange-traded funds, decentralized finance, privacy, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and XRP Ledger development.
Actor and Water.org co-founder Matt Damon is also scheduled to participate as a keynote speaker. Ripple has announced his involvement but has not disclosed the subject or timing of his address.
The broader speaker lineup includes Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, President Monica Long and CTO Emeritus David Schwartz, along with Bullish Chairman and CEO Tom Farley, Tradeweb CEO Billy Hult and Susquehanna Crypto CEO Chase Lax.
Other participants include BNY Global Head of Markets Laide Majiyagbe, Intercontinental Exchange executive Michael Blaugrund and Robinhood crypto executive Johann Kerbrat. Jenny Just, co-founder of financial technology company PEAK6, and Gary White, CEO and co-founder of Water.org, are also listed.
Nasdaq Chair and CEO Adena Friedman, New York State Department of Financial Services official John Melican and U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres are among the other announced participants. Patrick Witt, executive director of the White House President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, is also listed.
Representatives from the XRP Ledger ecosystem, including the XRPL Foundation and XRPL Commons, are expected to participate alongside academics from institutions including Chicago Booth, Columbia, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon and Wharton.
Their presence on the speaker roster does not by itself indicate an endorsement of Ripple or its products. It reflects the range of participants scheduled to discuss finance, policy and blockchain development.
The detailed conference agenda has not yet been fully published, leaving Rajan’s specific session, timing and appearance format undisclosed. Similar details remain unavailable for several other announced speakers.
Swell 2026 will begin with the Institutional Summit on Oct. 27, followed by the combined Swell and XRPL Apex programming through Oct. 29 at The Shed in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards.
Rajan’s addition brings a former central bank governor and current external adviser on Federal Reserve balance sheet policy into Ripple’s expanding conference lineup. The substance of his participation will become clearer when the company releases the full agenda.
