Ripple CEO "Korea's crypto regulation clarity will improve" [APEX 2025]

Brad Garlinghouse Ripple CEO Press Conference

Korea accounts for a significant portion of XRP liquidity

Rapid regulatory clarity expected after the presidential election

Stablecoin RLUSD market cap skyrockets

Continued targeting of institutional investor influx

"A recent presidential election was held in Korea. All major candidates made crypto-friendly pledges. Under the new administration, we expect Korea's crypto regulatory clarity to improve,"

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, said at a press conference for 'APEX 2025' held at the Raffles City Convention Center in Singapore on the 11th (local time). APEX is a community event for the public blockchain 'XRP Ledger (XRPL)' operated by Ripple, now in its fifth year.

The press conference was attended by key Ripple executives including CEO Brad Garlinghouse, President Monica Long, Senior Vice President Eric van Miltenburg, and CTO David Schwartz.

At the conference, CEO Garlinghouse explained that the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is a very meaningful market for Ripple. He said, "Ripple and the APAC region have been closely connected for ten years. Together with Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Korea, we have been conducting various business activities such as stablecoins and custody services."

In particular, CEO Garlinghouse mentioned the outcome of Korea's presidential election and forecast that a favorable environment for digital assets would be created domestically. He said, "Korea is a country that accounts for a significant part of XRP liquidity," and "we look forward to rapid establishment of regulatory clarity after the presidential election."

Ripple's views on stablecoins—a trending topic in the industry—were also shared. Ripple is currently issuing the stablecoin RLUSD directly, and was recently involved in rumors about acquiring Circle, the issuer of USDC.

Monica Long, President of Ripple, said, "We launched RLUSD last year and are providing it as a payment solution to various Asian clients. RLUSD's market capitalization has reached nearly $400 million in just a few months," she remarked.

She went on to explain that they aim to create real-world use cases to further drive RLUSD growth. President Monica Long emphasized, "The next phase of stablecoin adoption will be all about real-world usability. RLUSD is designed for actual use in payments, trading, and collateral, which is a strong advantage."

Meanwhile, on rumors about acquiring Circle, CEO Garlinghouse stated, "Circle's IPO was extremely successful, but Ripple has already launched its own stablecoin, and right now we are expecting growth across the overall market." He added, "The stablecoin market will grow to a scale of trillions of dollars, and RLUSD will continue to pursue various opportunities such as partnerships."

Ripple also disclosed some strategies aimed at targeting institutional investors.

They revealed that the previously highlighted acquisition of Hidden Road was a strategy to attract institutional investors. Recently, Ripple acquired prime brokerage Hidden Road for $1.25 billion. CEO Garlinghouse said, "Hidden Road and RLUSD can create the first trading platform where institutions can use cross-margining between digital and traditional assets," adding, "With Hidden Road, institutions can utilize RLUSD as collateral, tradable 24/7."

On the technical side, they also plan to facilitate further institutional entry. President Monica Long said, "Institutions want stability, fast settlement, regulatory friendliness, and low fees, all of which the XRP Ledger offers as a mainnet. To meet further institutional needs, we also plan to introduce features like on-chain lending, certified decentralized exchanges (DEX), and an EVM sidechain."

Singapore = Jinwook, Bloomingbit Reporter wook9629@bloomingbit.io