'The Shift Is Clear': Ripple Exec Says Institutional Finance Moving On-Chain

Reece Merrick, Ripple's Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa, spoke at a Gulf Capital Market Association event, emphasizing the growing shift of institutional finance onto blockchain. He noted that Ripple is positioning itself to offer the infrastructure and liquidity needed to bridge traditional finance with the digital asset ecosystem.

Ripple President Monica Long echoed similar sentiments, describing 2026 as the beginning of crypto's "production era," with institutions moving beyond pilot programs into broader adoption of stablecoins, crypto custody, on-chain assets, and tokenization. Key developments like the XRP Ledger lending protocol and enhancements in privacy and compliance are seen as critical to enabling institutional use and expanding XRP's role in high-value markets.