I just found out that Harvard has just recognized Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, as Business Leader of the Year. It’s no small thing—the 2026 award from the Harvard Business Association of Northern California was presented at a sold-out dinner in San Francisco.

Think about it for a moment. While the traditional establishment spent years mocking crypto, Brad Garlinghouse was building something completely different. The battle against the SEC, securing global licenses, making strategic acquisitions, getting XRP ETFs onto the market... none of that was a coincidence.

What’s interesting is that this isn’t a participation trophy. The same recognition has been given to the CEOs of Amazon and executives from Cisco. Now Ripple is in that circle. And the market noticed right away. XRP rose on the news, hovering around $1.40 with potential to keep climbing.

What Brad Garlinghouse achieved was transforming what looked like a regulatory war into validation from the establishment. He built one of the most resilient projects that connects traditional finance with blockchain. It’s not that crypto is turning toward traditional finance—the opposite is true: institutions are looking in this direction.

The narrative has changed. From a “risky experiment” to “leadership backed by Harvard.” Institutions are paying attention, retail FOMO is growing, and the window of opportunity is closing. It was a great week for Ripple, but next year promises to be even more interesting.