The cryptocurrency community gathers in Las Vegas for a major XRP conference to discuss the future of XRP. In the United States, a strong contender from London has emerged: Cassie Craddock, Managing Director of Ripple for the UK and Europe. Delivering this statement prompts reflection on whether Europe may truly offer a more favorable environment for XRP’s development than the United States.
In the United States, discussions about XRP still often focus on regulatory news, but in Europe, the focus has shifted to real-world applications. Craddock says that digital asset adoption has moved from pilot projects to production, and she believes this is especially evident in Europe.
Why the UK CEO of Ripple believes Europe has taken the lead
She believes that the region’s key advantage by 2026 will be the maturity of its infrastructure. While other markets are still in the exploratory phase, Europe has already established Ripple Custody as the foundation of its infrastructure. Craddock emphasized that without a custody architecture, any strategy—from payments to tokenization—carries unacceptable risks.
As her primary evidence, she also pointed to the integration of Ripple Custody issued by Italian giant Intesa Sanpaolo. For XRP, this may be more than just a partnership—it could signal that some of Europe’s largest banks are ready to scale up their operations without compromise.
The application of digital assets has transitioned from pilot stages to production. In my view, this is particularly evident in Europe.
— Cassie Craddock (@CraddockCJ)April 27, 2026
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克拉多克的声明发表于一个极具象征意义的时刻，因为就在此刻，一场专门讨论 XRP 生态系统的会议正在拉斯维加斯举行。当美国社区正在庆祝本地的成功时，克拉多克却在质疑美国的主导地位，指出市场的下一个阶段——运营成熟期——已在旧世界到来。
On one hand, there is the United States, which boasts substantial capital and the momentum from the Las Vegas conference; on the other hand, there is Europe, which, according to Craddock, has built an infrastructure "layer" that enables institutions to launch operations faster and operate with greater confidence thanks to its built-in compliance mechanisms.