Ripple CEO criticizes Dutch central bank's $11 billion gold move

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse criticized De Nederlandsche Bank's $11 billion gold relocation. De Nederlandsche Bank transferred roughly 86 tonnes from New York and Ottawa to London between March and August. The Dutch central bank sold about 59 tonnes in New York. It bought the same quantity in London. Nearly 70% of the transfer was a paper exercise. Only 27 tonnes crossed the Atlantic. New York now holds 18.5% of Dutch reserves. That share was previously 31.3%. London's share rose to 32.1%. De Nederlandsche Bank holds 612.4 tonnes of gold. The holdings were worth 72.2 billion euros at the end of 2025. Garlinghouse said global finance still shifts value as it did in the 1940s. He contrasted that process with crypto's growth from a $1.5 billion experiment into a $2.7 trillion asset class. Garlinghouse also cited Germany's 2013 gold repatriation. The Bundesbank needed four years to bring home 674 tonnes worth roughly $36 billion. DNB Governor Olaf Sleijpen said the relocation prepared for crises rather than showing distrust of Washington. Sleijpen said the move improved the tradability of the gold reserves. He said DNB expected never to need to use them. He said DNB still needed to strengthen resilience and preparedness. London handles more physical gold trading than Ottawa. Banks settle value through correspondent queues. Stablecoins clear payments instantly. SWIFT activated its own blockchain ledger in July. Final settlement still runs on older rails. Garlinghouse made a similar point after a Mastercard deal in June. XRP traded near $1.40. XRP was down 3.65% on the day. XRP was up 21% over three months. The Bank for International Settlements tested the XRP Ledger this month. Its prototype anchored official statistics in three to five seconds. Verification took one to two seconds. Central banks want vaults, insurance and legal finality.