I just reviewed what Brad Garlinghouse said at the XRP conference in Sydney recently, and there’s something that has been circulating in the community for years that finally became clear.

We all know that the “switch on” phrase became popular among XRP holders almost as if it were a single, apocalyptic event that suddenly would increase everything’s value. The idea was that at some point, banks would say yes, and boom, XRP to the sky. Garlinghouse was the one who originally mentioned something similar back in 2019 when talking about institutions moving from pilot programs to using xRapid in production. But the community amplified that into something much bigger.

Well, the CEO clarified that it doesn’t work that way. Ripple isn’t waiting for a single master switch to turn everything on. According to Garlinghouse, there are hundreds or even thousands of smaller switches that are constantly being activated. Each one represents an incremental step in adoption, a partnership here, an integration there, favorable regulation elsewhere.

The interesting part is that he himself acknowledges that some of these developments have taken longer than people expected. But he insists that progress is real. More and more of these small switches are turning on, even if they don’t always make headlines. In fact, during his world tour, he has seen a lot of passion in the community, especially in Australia. He says that the holders themselves act as more switches by fighting misinformation and keeping the narrative alive.

Since 2023, Ripple has spent 3 billion dollars on acquisitions. That’s not a casual move. It’s part of the strategy to connect traditional finance with DeFi. Garlinghouse is optimistic about 2026 and the years ahead, but his message is clear: don’t look for a dramatic moment. Look for years of steady work that eventually creates exponential impact.

Right now, XRP is at $1.44 with a market capitalization of $88.54 billion. When you look back in a few years, you’ll probably realize that it wasn’t a single event that moved everything, but the accumulation of hundreds of small steps. That’s what Garlinghouse wanted to communicate: the switch on isn’t a switch, it’s thousands turning on slowly.