Ripple concluded its Swell 2026 conference with major announcements, but the XRP token failed to capitalize on the momentum, slipping to new local lows. CEO Brad Garlinghouse reassured the XRP community that the token remains Ripple's "North Star," despite the company's growing focus on its RLUSD stablecoin. He acknowledged that fiat currencies or stablecoins may be more suitable for certain transactions, but emphasized Ripple's commitment to activities that benefit XRP.
RLUSD received significant support during the conference, with Coinbase expanding access across multiple platforms and Robinhood integrating it into its financial operations. BNY Mellon also added custody support for both XRP and RLUSD, while Moody's assigned RLUSD an A2 long-term and P-1 short-term investment-grade rating. Ripple reported that its product revenue run rate is nearing $900 million annually and received final approval to establish Ripple National Trust Bank.
On the XRP Ledger front, developers proposed tighter controls for permissioned assets, aiming to restrict unapproved holders from holding regulated stablecoins or tokenized funds. Flare joined the XRPL validator list, while Anodos Finance exited. Meanwhile, Ripple and C2FO are collaborating to bring Instant Pay settlement onto the XRP Ledger, using RLUSD to enable faster payments for suppliers.
Despite the positive developments, XRP's price declined alongside the broader market. After being rejected at $1.40 on October 21, the token dropped to $1.25 before rebounding to challenge $1.35 following the Fed's interest rate pause. However, a major crypto exchange hack earlier today triggered a market-wide crash, driving XRP to a multi-month low of $1.19. The asset has since recovered slightly but remains down 4% on the day and 6% weekly, with its market cap falling below $80 billion.