I recently saw Ripple's Brad Garlinghouse speak at a hackathon event in Australia, and this guy is really confident about the prospects of the crypto market in 2026. In his talk in Sydney, he shared a particularly interesting perspective — he said that pushing for crypto legalization isn't about a single KOL or influencer, but about thousands of advocates worldwide working together.

Garlinghouse used a vivid metaphor: "It's not a switch, but a thousand switches." He emphasizes the cumulative effect — everyone's efforts and advocacy are stacking up, and eventually, they can create exponential impact. This progress may sometimes seem slow, but he pointed out that we've already made huge strides, with more and more switches being turned on.

I think this viewpoint is quite interesting. Brad Garlinghouse believes that it’s these dispersed voices around the world that are continuously dispelling misconceptions and panic about crypto and XRP. He even sees the participants of this hackathon as part of these "switches." From this perspective, Garlinghouse's optimism actually reflects the quiet buildup of strength within the entire ecosystem.

Speaking of which, I also came across an analysis from JP Morgan that’s worth paying attention to. According to Bloomberg, this banking giant believes that the crypto market might see a "meaningful uplift" in the second half of 2026, although market sentiment is still quite subdued at the moment. The key catalyst could be the passage of the Clarity Act, which is mainly aimed at providing regulatory clarity for crypto assets and ending the SEC’s previous "enforcement equals regulation" approach. If this bill passes before the end of 2025, JP Morgan’s analysts believe it will "reshape the market."

These two signals combined seem to suggest that 2026 could really be a turning point for the crypto industry. From Garlinghouse’s thousand-switch theory to JP Morgan’s policy expectations, both point in the same direction: the accumulation in the market and policy shifts may resonate strongly in the second half of the year.