Ripple CEO's Speech That Predicted XRP's Future

In January 2020, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse brought Ripple’s “Internet of Value” vision to the World Economic Forum in Davos. This was not just another industry conference—it was the global stage where leaders in government, central banking, and finance debated the future of money

Garlinghouse’s presence signaled that Ripple was no longer positioning itself as a scrappy startup, but as a player capable of reshaping global financial infrastructure. During that same Davos cycle, he also predicted a wave of crypto IPOs, highlighting just how quickly institutional adoption could accelerate.

A Blueprint for CBDCs and Interoperability

The World Economic Forum unveiled its inaugural CBDC Policymaker Toolkit at Davos, outlining potential designs for sovereign digital currencies and highlighting concerns on interoperability. Garlinghouse emphasized that while central banks would eventually issue CBDCs, they would not naturally work together across borders

That, he argued, was Ripple’s role. In the years since, Ripple has turned that blueprint into infrastructure with its CBDC Platform, built on the XRP Ledger to enable issuance, management, and cross-network transfers of digital currencies and tokenized assets.

Building Through Litigation

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Just months after Davos, the SEC filed its lawsuit against Ripple in December 2020. Yet the case did not halt Ripple’s international expansion. Instead, Ripple deepened relationships with central banks and governments

Bhutan piloted a digital ngultrum using Ripple’s technology, Palau launched a USD-backed stablecoin on the XRP Ledger, Colombia’s central bank tested high-value payment solutions, and Georgia selected Ripple for its digital lari project. Each partnership demonstrated Ripple’s commitment to solving the interoperability issue Garlinghouse highlighted years earlier.

2025: From Vision to Reality

Today, CBDCs are no longer theoretical. Dozens of countries are running pilots, and several have already launched live projects. Ripple has extended its reach further by introducing RLUSD, a dollar-backed stablecoin launched in December 2024 on both the XRP Ledger and Ethereum

This step strengthened Ripple’s position as a liquidity provider and a bridge between CBDCs, stablecoins, and fiat currencies—exactly the role Garlinghouse foreshadowed at Davos.

The Legal Backdrop

The SEC lawsuit reshaped, but did not derail, Ripple’s trajectory. Judge Analisa Torres’ 2023 ruling declared that XRP sales on secondary markets were not securities, though some institutional sales violated securities law. In June 2025, Judge Torres rejected a proposed settlement on procedural grounds

Shortly after, Ripple’s CEO confirmed the company would drop its counter-appeal, and the SEC expected followed suit. This brought the long-running case close to resolution without altering Ripple’s long-term strategy.

Satoshi Scope’s post captures the reality that Garlinghouse’s 2020 words at Davos were less a prediction and more a roadmap. Five years later, CBDCs are taking shape, and Ripple has built the tools to bridge them. The “Internet of Value” Garlinghouse described is steadily emerging, with XRP positioned as the connective tissue in a new global financial system.

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