Matt Damon will take the stage at Ripple’s Swell conference in New York this October, speaking about how Water.org uses Ripple’s payment tools. The event runs 27 to 29 October.
Damon co-founded Water.org, a nonprofit that works on safe water and sanitation. Early in June it announced an exclusive partnership with Ripple, which gives the group access to Ripple’s unified payments, liquidity and treasury management systems. Damon is one of the keynote speakers, according to Blockzeit.
He will appear alongside Gary White, Water.org’s CEO and co-founder. Ripple says the two will show how Ripple Payments and its RLUSD stablecoin already move money faster across Asia, Africa and Latin America. White built WaterCredit, the lending model that Ripple says has mobilized $8.2 billion and reached 92 million people. The goal is 200 million by 2030.
What the partnership covers
The deal lets Water.org’s Get Blue campaign use RLUSD. The campaign bridges corporate donations and microloans that finance safe water networks. Starbucks and Amazon, both Ripple partners, have joined the effort.
Damon is expected to talk about WaterCredit and its small loans, as well as WaterEquity, the group’s private capital network, and WaterConnect, which funds infrastructure projects. Water.org says it works in 15 countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America. By its own count it has served more than 92 million people, against an estimated 2.1 billion who need safe water and sanitation.
Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple’s CEO, will moderate the session with Damon and White. He will also moderate a conversation with Tom Farley, chairman and CEO of Bullish and a former president of the New York Stock Exchange.
About Swell
Ripple launched Swell in 2017. This year is the 10th anniversary, and the company expects 1,500 attendees from banks, fintechs, corporates and asset managers, along with policymakers. For the first time Swell is joined by Apex, a summit for XRP Ledger builders, and UBRI Connect, an academic conference tied to Ripple’s university research program.
Three tracks make up the programme: Institutional, Ecosystem and Innovation. Speakers include David Schwartz, Ripple’s CTO Emeritus, and Ari Juels of Cornell Tech.
Sources
- Ripple Swell 2026 Lineup: Speakers, Tracks & Agenda.
- Matt Damon To Speak How His NPO Leverages Ripple's Solutions
