Brad Garlinghouse is pointing to an $11 billion gold relocation by the Dutch central bank as evidence that traditional finance still settles value through infrastructure better suited to another era.
De Nederlandsche Bank moved roughly 86 tonnes of gold to London between March and August, shifting metal held in New York and Ottawa. But most of it never physically crossed the Atlantic. About 59 tonnes were sold in New York and repurchased in London, meaning nearly 70% of the transfer was a paper exercise. Only 27 tonnes actually flew across the ocean.
The Ripple chief executive’s argument is straightforward: if ownership can change without moving the underlying asset, blockchain could make that transfer considerably faster. “Global finance still shifts value the way it did in the 1940s,” he said.
DNB Governor Olaf Sleijpen framed the relocation as crisis preparation rather than any signal about Washington. London handles far more physical gold trade than Ottawa, and the move gives the central bank better access to one of the world’s deepest physical gold markets. “With this relocation, we have improved the tradability of our gold reserves. We expect that we will never need to use them, but we do need to strengthen our resilience and preparedness,” Sleijpen said.
The rebalancing shifted the distribution of Dutch reserves. New York now holds 18.5% of the total, down from 31.3%, while London’s share climbed to 32.1%. DNB holds 612.4 tonnes in total, worth 72.2 billion euros (approximately $83.9 billion) at the end of 2025.
Garlinghouse contrasted that friction with the crypto market’s trajectory over the past decade, which he said grew from a $1.5 billion experiment into a $2.7 trillion asset class. He also revisited Germany’s earlier repatriation program, in which the Bundesbank needed several years to bring home 674 tonnes of gold from Paris and New York to Frankfurt, completing the operation in 2017.
Tokenized Gold Already Trading on XRP Ledger
The critique carries a direct connection to Ripple’s own network. The XRP Ledger already supports tokenized real-world assets, including gold-backed tokens. Its framework allows issued assets to move onchain with settlement measured in seconds, while physical bullion remains with a custodian.
Tokenized gold on XRPL has exceeded $1 million in cumulative trading volume, providing a small but real example of the model Garlinghouse is describing. The broader tokenized asset ecosystem on the network has also expanded.
FeatureTraditional goldTokenized goldPhysical custodyRequiredRequiredOwnership transferMultiple intermediariesOnchainSettlementMarket-dependentSecondsTrading hoursLimitedPotentially 24/7
Note: Comparison based on XRPL tokenization framework characteristics described in source material.
The Bank for International Settlements, which is owned by central banks, recently ran tests on the XRP Ledger. Its prototype anchored official central bank data in three to five seconds, with verification taking just one to two seconds. Those numbers support the speed argument, though central banks still favor physical vaults, insurance and legal finality for crisis preparation.
Garlinghouse is not arguing that XRP should replace central-bank gold. His broader case is that moving ownership should not require moving the asset itself. The Netherlands’ gold shuffle shows traditional finance already works that way economically. Tokenization simply tries to make the same process faster and more programmable.
Legislative Push
Beyond the speed debate, Garlinghouse is urging U.S. lawmakers to pass the CLARITY Act to keep crypto innovation in America, speaking out following a White House meeting with top tech and financial leaders. The Senate scheduled a key vote for September 15 at 2:15 PM ET, with supporters needing 60 votes to clear the first procedural hurdle and open the bill for formal debate.
Passing the legislation still faces political obstacles. The bill encountered delays due to fights over DeFi rules and consumer protections. Adding to those complications, U.S. House leaders canceled meetings for the last two weeks of September to start election recess early. As a result, the bill might not become law this month even if the Senate passes its vote. Betting odds on Polymarket fell right after the House announced its early break.
XRP trades near $1.41, up 0.5% for the day and up 21% over three months. The token’s price action reflects broader market interest in the regulatory and institutional adoption narratives that Garlinghouse has been pushing.
The mechanics of traditional settlement still support his complaint. Banks settle value through correspondent queues, while stablecoins clear payments instantly. SWIFT switched on its own blockchain ledger in July, yet final settlement runs on older rails. Garlinghouse made a similar point after the Mastercard deal in June.
On speed, the numbers favor crypto. On trust, the gap remains. Central banks want vaults, insurance and legal finality — structural security that digital assets are still working to replicate. Sleijpen’s decision to move gold to London was driven by the necessity of crisis-era tradability, a form of resilience that tokenized systems have yet to fully demonstrate at central-bank scale.