2026 Could Change Everything, Says Ripple Executive

Ripple Senior Executive Officer/Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, Reece Merrick is excited about 2026. In a tweet, Merrick said it is hard to describe the energy at Ripple right now. This comes amid recent developments, with Ripple securing an EMI license in the U.K.

Merrick says 2025 was foundational, with acquisitions made, and with the U.K. EMI license in the mix, he says 2026 is looking like a total game changer.

The Ripple executive was reacting to CEO Brad Garlinghouse’s first tweet in 2026, which reflected on the most recent developments in the year as well as progress in the past year, Q4, 2025 especially.

Merrick highlighted that Ripple takes the long view rather than being distracted by hype cycles, saying the company is building the infrastructure that actually matters for the future of finance.

Brad Garlinghouse: Ripple firing all cylinders

In his first tweet of 2026, CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated that 2025 (and Q4) were successful for Ripple. Garlinghouse added that Ripple’s two major acquisitions, Ripple Prime and GTreasury, significantly accelerate and expand its ability to deliver on its vision, enabling the Internet of Value. XRP has been (and will continue to be) the heartbeat of that vision, the Ripple CEO added.

Now with a U.K. EMI license, Ripple is poised to make 2026 even more consequential. Ripple will continue taking the long view of what crypto assets, including XRP and RLUSD, can do, rather than chasing cycles and hype.

“Bring on 2026. We are firing on all cylinders. It’s happening,” Garlinghouse said.

Ripple’s recent developments

Ripple announced a major regulatory milestone on Friday as it secured approval of an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license and Cryptoasset Registration from the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

This will allow Ripple to expand its licensed payments platform, giving U.K. institutions the ability to send cross-border payments using digital assets.

On Friday, Ripple said it was expanding its longstanding strategic collaboration with BNY, the primary reserve custodian of RLUSD. This comes as BNY launched tokenized deposit services for institutional clients, bringing digital assets directly into the banking system, with Ripple Prime as an early adopter.