Ripple CEO proposes crypto as alternative to central bank gold transfers

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has proposed cryptocurrency as a more efficient alternative to traditional gold reserves for central banks. He cited the recent movement of gold by De Nederlandsche Bank (the Dutch central bank) as a primary example of the inefficiencies in current financial infrastructure.

Between March and August 2026, the Dutch central bank moved approximately 86 tonnes of gold. Garlinghouse noted that roughly 59 tonnes were sold in New York and replaced by gold purchased in London, meaning the majority of the value was transferred without the physical gold bars crossing the Atlantic. Another 27 tonnes were physically transferred as the bank adjusted its reserve placement.

Garlinghouse argued that cryptocurrency offers an ‘ideal use case’ for the fast, secure, and low-cost global transfer of value, bypassing the need for location-centric processes and heavy reliance on physical custody. He compared this to Germany’s Bundesbank, which spent four years between 2013 and 2017 transferring 674 tonnes of gold from Paris and New York to Frankfurt.