In October, two pivotal events will dominate the Ripple ecosystem: the Swell conference and a significant update to the XRP Ledger network. These dual focal points—one emphasizing institutional adoption and industry discourse, the other focusing on technical infrastructure—are expected to generate substantial interest within the XRP community.
Swell Conference Scheduled in New York
Ripple is set to host the Swell event from October 27 to 29, 2026, in New York. For the first time, the conference will be held alongside the Apex summit, designed to bring together developers, enterprises, and stakeholders working on the XRP Ledger. The event will also feature UBRI Connect, a gathering organized under Ripple’s University Blockchain Research Initiative. Known for its cross-border payment and digital asset solutions, Ripple is assembling a meeting of minds from finance, crypto, and the broader XRP community through panels and discussions.
Key topics will cover liquidity and consensus processes, tokenization of real-world assets, the adoption of bank-level stablecoins, the first year of spot XRP ETFs, AI payment facilitators, and post-quantum security advancements across three stages.
Ripple will untangle critical finance themes at Swell, covering liquidity, tokenization, stablecoin adoption, spot XRP ETFs, AI-powered payment systems, and post-quantum security concerns.
Leadership and Technical Discussions Take Center Stage
Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple’s CEO, will engage in a discussion on the transformation of digital assets and the future direction of the sector. Additionally, Garlinghouse will moderate a session with Tom Farley, Chairman and CEO of Bullish, focused on the digital asset markets and global finance’s forthcoming landscape. Another highlight will be a dialogue with Matt Damon and Gary White on how technology and partnerships enhance access to financial opportunities.
On the technical front, David Schwartz, Ripple CTO Emeritus, alongside Ayo Akinyele, RippleX Senior Director of Engineering, will explore the next steps for the XRP Ledger. These sessions are expected to be closely monitored for insights into corporate utilization and development roadmaps.
XRPL Mainnet Update Planned for October 23
A comprehensive update, named fixCleanup3_4_0, is scheduled for deployment on the mainnet of the XRP Ledger on October 23, 2026. This update includes adjustments across several components such as Single Asset Vaults, Lending Protocol, Automated Market Makers, permissioned DEX framework, trust lines, NFTs, MPTs, Escrow, Sponsorship, transaction signing, and permission delegation.
The update is particularly vital for Permission Delegation, a construct allowing accounts to pass on certain powers to another in a limited manner. Until the update is activated, users will be unable to delegate the PaymentBurn permission detail to another account. The earliest activation date of October 23, 2026, depends on maintaining over 80% validator support throughout the process.
Without the activation of fixCleanup3_4_0, users cannot delegate the PaymentBurn permission detail to another account.
