Ripple has announced that Academy Award-winning actor Matt Damon will be a featured keynote speaker at Swell 2026, scheduled for October 27–29 at The Shed in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards.
Damon co-founded the nonprofit Water.org with Gary White, who is also listed as a speaker. Ripple has an existing relationship with Water.org through the Get Blue campaign, in which the Ripple USD stablecoin (RLUSD) is used to transfer funding to microfinance partners in emerging markets. Water.org has also been identified among organizations using Ripple Payments and RLUSD for humanitarian aid delivery, with Ripple highlighting potential improvements in speed, transparency, and accountability for cross-border transfers.
The conference will combine Swell and XRPL Apex for the first time, bringing together institutional finance, policy, developer, and research tracks across three stages. Ripple expects more than 1,500 attendees, over 75 speakers, and more than 50 sessions.
Other announced speakers include Bullish Chairman and CEO Tom Farley, Robinhood crypto executive Johann Kerbrat, BNY Global Head of Markets Laide Majiyagbe, Intercontinental Exchange executive Michael Blaugrund, Aviva investment director Alastair Sewell, Susquehanna Crypto CEO Chase Lax, and PEAK6 co-founder Jenny Just. Ripple executives Brad Garlinghouse, Monica Long, and David Schwartz are also listed, along with former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan.
Ripple has not disclosed the topic, timing, or format of Damon’s keynote. Conference topics will cover payments, stablecoins, tokenization, regulation, digital asset infrastructure, institutional markets, and XRP utility. Ripple also continues to expand its institutional services, including Delta One, custody, tokenization, prime brokerage, and trading.
Standard registration is $1,200 through October 5, with final pricing at $1,500 through October 20. Ripple plans an institutional summit and hackathon, with complete session schedules still pending.
