XRP holders are preparing for a pivotal month ahead as two significant events approach in October 2026. Ripple, a San Francisco-based company known for its global payment solutions and key development role in the XRP Ledger, is set to bring institutional, academic, and developer communities together for its annual Swell conference, while the XRP Ledger readies for a major protocol upgrade.
Ripple’s Swell, Apex, and UBRI Connect converge in New York
From October 27 to 29, Ripple will host the Swell conference in New York, drawing leaders from finance, cryptocurrency, and the broader XRP ecosystem. This year, Ripple will merge Swell with Apex, a specialized summit for developers and innovators building on the XRP Ledger, as well as UBRI Connect, an academic conference connected to its global University Blockchain Research Initiative.
By combining these three flagship summits, Ripple aims to create a diverse platform for in-depth panels, keynote presentations, and cross-disciplinary discussions. The agenda will cover key trends shaping the financial sector, including liquidity and settlement solutions, the tokenization of real-world assets, the growing role of stablecoins in banking applications, and the impact of artificial intelligence on payments infrastructure.
Participants will also hear from influential speakers, including Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz and RippleX Senior Director of Engineering Ayo Akinyele, as they outline upcoming changes and improvements to the XRP Ledger. In addition, Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, will contribute insights during a fireside chat on digital asset evolution and lead panels with Bullish CEO Tom Farley and Water.org co-founder Matt Damon, focusing on the intersection of technology, finance, and social impact.
Ripple plans to foster conversations with industry experts on liquidity, tokenization, and the drive for greater financial access through new innovations anchored in the XRP Ledger.
XRPL protocol upgrade: fixCleanup3_4_0 amendment
Prior to the conference, the XRP Ledger is scheduled to receive a crucial protocol amendment on October 23, 2026. Named fixCleanup3_4_0, this update will address technical fixes and enhancements for several functions within the network, such as Single Asset Vaults, the Lending Protocol, Automated Market Makers, the permissioned decentralized exchange (DEX), trust lines, NFTs, MPTs, escrows, sponsorship mechanisms, transaction signing, and advanced permission delegation.
The fixCleanup3_4_0 amendment is particularly important for advancing Permission Delegation, enabling users to assign granular permissions like PaymentBurn, which are necessary for more complex transaction flows. The update will only be activated on the mainnet if validator approval stays above 80 percent throughout the adoption window, with October 23 as the earliest possible activation date.
Mini dictionary: Permission Delegation, a feature on the XRP Ledger, allows users or applications to grant specific transaction rights to other users or smart contracts, increasing security and flexibility within the network’s permission model.
This round of technical improvements is expected to streamline operations for developers and institutions using the XRP Ledger, ensuring the ecosystem meets evolving demands in digital finance.
Validator consensus must reach and maintain at least 80% support for the protocol amendment before activation, marking October 23, 2026, as a potential milestone for the XRPL upgrade.
