Damon to Keynote at Ripple Swell: Stablecoins in Humanitarian Aid

Ripple's Swell 2026 conference is set to feature a high-profile keynote speaker in Matt Damon, co-founder of Water.org. The nonprofit organization recently launched its Get Blue campaign to expand access to safe water and sanitation. Ripple has partnered with Water.org as the exclusive digital asset and payments partner for the campaign, using its RLUSD stablecoin to facilitate faster and cheaper cross-border payments.

The partnership gives RLUSD a humanitarian payments use case, where speed and cost matter in reaching partners operating in emerging markets. While stablecoins are often discussed through the lens of trading liquidity, exchange settlement, or treasury management, this use case highlights their potential for philanthropy and aid funding.

Ripple's role in the partnership includes seed funding and the use of Ripple Payments and RLUSD to help move funds more efficiently to microfinance partners. The company aims to frame RLUSD as payment infrastructure rather than another speculative crypto asset, giving it a broader audience and mainstream recognition.