Ripple CEO Garlinghouse Flags $11 Billion Dutch Gold Move in XRP (XRP) Settlement Case

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse slammed the Dutch central bank's $11 billion gold transfer as 1940s-style finance, citing XRP Ledger speed as the alternative.

(10:13 AM UTC)
4 min read
AI SummaryAI
  • Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse criticized DNB's $11 billion gold transfer from New York to London.
  • DNB moved about 86 tonnes of gold between March and August, with roughly 70% settled on paper.
  • Only 27 tonnes physically crossed the Atlantic; London's share of Dutch reserves rose to 32.1%.
  • Garlinghouse said crypto grew from a $1.5 billion experiment into a $2.7 trillion asset class.
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Garlinghouse Points to 1940s-Style Settlement

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has waded into one of the week's more unusual flashpoints: the Dutch central bank's months-long relocation of roughly $11 billion in gold from New York to London. Garlinghouse, who recounted the episode in a September 4 post on X, argued that the operation shows global finance still shifts value the way it did in the 1940s. De Nederlandsche Bank transferred about 86 tonnes of bullion between March and August, yet approximately 70% of that haul never physically left the ground. The bank sold the metal in New York and repurchased the identical quantity in London, reducing much of the exercise to a paper settlement. For Garlinghouse, the contrast with the crypto sector's trajectory is stark: he noted the industry has grown from a $1.5 billion experiment into a $2.7 trillion asset class in roughly a decade, while legacy infrastructure still leans on correspondent-banking queues. He reached for a historical parallel as well, pointing out that Germany's Bundesbank needed four full years to repatriate 674 tonnes — worth about $36 billion — under its 2013 program. The comparison matters for XRP's cross-border settlement role, since Ripple's core pitch has always been that value should clear in seconds, not seasons. It is the same argument the company has carried through recent consumer-facing and institutional pushes alike.

86 Tonnes Relocated, BIS Trials the Ledger

The mechanics behind the Dutch operation support Garlinghouse's complaint. DNB sent roughly 86 tonnes to London from vaults in New York and Ottawa, selling about 59 tonnes in New York before buying the same weight back in London. Only 27 tonnes actually crossed the Atlantic. New York's share of Dutch reserves fell from 31.3% to 18.5%, while London climbed to 32.1%; the central bank holds 612.4 tonnes in total, valued at 72.2 billion euros at the end of 2025. DNB Governor Olaf Sleijpen framed the relocation as crisis preparation rather than distrust of Washington, saying the bank wants to strengthen resilience and preparedness even though it expects never to use the reserves. The settlement-friction theme extends beyond gold: SWIFT switched on its own blockchain ledger in July, yet final settlement still runs on older rails, while trading on crypto exchanges clears in seconds. Notably, the Bank for International Settlements — the institution owned by central banks — tested the XRP Ledger this month, with its prototype anchoring official statistics in three to five seconds and verification taking one to two. Ripple's broader mainstream push continues in parallel, from a multi-year Florida Gators sponsorship to a regulatory milestone in which SEC Order 34-106268 named XRP a digital commodity under a Nasdaq Texas rule. Readers tracking the market in real time can follow live spot and futures prices on MEXC.

$1.41 Pivot and the $1.52 Ceiling

COINOTAG's proprietary 42-indicator composite S/R scoring engine shows XRP trading at $1.4052, down 2.73% over 24 hours and pinned directly beneath two heavy ceilings: the $1.4149 resistance rates 83/100 on our composite, driven by the Pivot Point, LVN and MACD Cross confluence, while $1.5204 scores 84/100 from Fibo 0.236, POC and HVN sources. The strongest support sits at $1.3539, rated 72/100 via Swing Low, Fibo 0.500 and Ichimoku Kijun. Derivatives add a cautionary note — funding is slightly negative at -0.0007%, open interest stands at $962.5 million, and 73.7% of accounts are long (2.80 ratio) — with the Fear & Greed Index at 73 (Greed) and our MACD signal bearish in a sideways trend. A reclaim of $1.4149 opens the path to $1.52; a close below $1.3539 invalidates the constructive read. With Raghuram Rajan headlining Ripple Swell 2026 next month, catalysts are stacking.

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