As of January 3, 2026, XRP has seen a recent price surge of about 5.88% over the past 24 hours, reaching approximately $2.01 amid broader market speculation and regulatory developments. Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, hasn't made direct public comments specifically addressing this immediate price movement (based on recent X posts and interviews). However, his statements from late 2025 provide relevant context on XRP's market dynamics, volatility, institutional adoption, and long-term outlook, which often influence price trends. Here's a summary of his key remarks:
On Market Volatility and Recent Turbulence
Garlinghouse has downplayed concerns about short-term market dips, viewing them as normal cycles that don't deter long-term growth. In a December 2025 panel at Binance Blockchain Week, when asked if recent volatility has spooked institutional capital, he responded: "Definitely not." He argued that such fluctuations are actually drawing more interest rather than pushing it away, emphasizing that crypto goes through "risk-on" and "risk-off" moments but remains resilient.
On Institutional Adoption and ETF Inflows (Indirectly Tied to Price Support)
He frequently highlights the rapid growth of XRP spot ETFs as a sign of pent-up demand, which could stabilize and boost prices through increased liquidity and accessibility. For instance:
- On December 16, 2025, he noted "30 straight days of net inflows for XRP Spot ETFs."
- On December 8, 2025, he pointed out that XRP became "the fastest crypto Spot ETF to reach $1B in AUM (since ETH) in the US" in under four weeks, attributing this to regulated products making crypto accessible to non-experts via platforms like Vanguard.
- In the same Binance panel, he revealed over $700 million in inflows to XRP ETFs in just weeks, calling it "just pent-up demand from institutional investors" who were previously sidelined by regulatory uncertainty.
He sees this as part of a broader trend where institutions "crawl, then walk, then run" into crypto, predicting crypto ETFs will exceed their current 1-2% share of the global ETF market by the end of 2026: "I will bet anybody here that a year from now that will be more than one or two percent... No chance" it stays this small.
On Regulatory Clarity and 2026 Outlook (Potential Price Catalysts)
Garlinghouse is highly bullish on 2026, citing U.S. regulatory shifts as a major underpriced factor for XRP's growth. He expects legislation like the Clarity Act to pass in the first half of 2026, unlocking further adoption: "I think sometime in the first half of next year we'll see passage of legislation, which will continue to unlock and create more tailwinds for the whole industry." He described his optimism as unprecedented: "As we go into 2026 I don't remember being this optimistic in the last handful of years," driven by macro tailwinds like the U.S. (22% of global GDP) moving from hostility to support for crypto.
Additionally, he has estimated that XRP could capture 14% of SWIFT's global transaction volume within five years, a scenario that analysts project could drive significant price upside (e.g., toward $8 or higher in some forecasts).
Broader Context from His Activity
Garlinghouse's focus in recent months has been on Ripple's ecosystem expansions, such as acquisitions (e.g., GTreasury for treasury payments) and stablecoin milestones (RLUSD reaching top-5 status and $1B market cap), which he ties to real-world utility for XRP rather than speculation. He emphasizes that "XRP sits at the center of everything Ripple does," positioning these developments as foundational for sustained value growth.
