Crypto Gloss

Monica Long

Monica Long is the President of Ripple Labs — the San Francisco-based blockchain payments company — who joined the company in 2013 as its first communications hire when it had fewer than 20 employees, built Ripple’s marketing and communications function during its critical early growth phase, advanced through general management and business development roles, and was appointed President in early 2023 to lead Ripple’s operational strategy and day-to-day business as the company emerged from the multi-year SEC enforcement action that resulted in a landmark July 2023 partial court ruling finding that XRP programmatic sales on exchanges were not securities — enabling Ripple to resume U.S.-facing business activities with greater legal certainty.

Background

Monica Long earned a degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in Rhetoric — a communications and argument-focused discipline. She worked in technology communications and marketing roles before joining Ripple.

Joining Ripple (2013)

Long joined Ripple (then reorganized from its original OpenCoin iteration) in 2013 as its first marketing and communications hire. The company was small — fewer than 20 employees — but had already developed the XRP Ledger and the core concept of using XRP as a bridge currency for international payments.

Over the following decade, Long built out Ripple’s:

  • Communications and public relations function.
  • Marketing and brand management.
  • Business development for the RippleNet payment network.

She became one of the company’s most senior and prominent public-facing executives alongside CEO Brad Garlinghouse and CTO David Schwartz (“JoelKatz”).

RippleNet and Payment Business

Ripple’s core business proposition is enabling faster, cheaper international money transfers using:

  • RippleNet — A network of financial institutions (banks, payment providers) using Ripple’s technology for cross-border settlements.
  • On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) — Using XRP as a bridge currency between fiat currencies, eliminating the need for banks to pre-fund offshore accounts (nostra accounts) for international transfers.

Under Long’s business development leadership, RippleNet expanded to include hundreds of financial institution partners including Santander, PNC Bank, SBI Holdings (Japan), and many others.

President Role (2023)

Long was elevated to President of Ripple in early 2023, a role distinct from the CEO (Brad Garlinghouse) that focuses on:

  • Leading Ripple’s operational and business development strategy.
  • Managing regional expansion — particularly in Asia, the Middle East, and emerging markets.
  • Overseeing RippleNet and ODL product growth.
  • Representing Ripple’s business interests as the company reshapes following the SEC lawsuit phase.

SEC v. Ripple Context

Long’s presidency coincided with the resolution phase of the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit (filed December 2020) — a case alleging that XRP was sold as an unregistered security.

  • July 13, 2023 — Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP programmatic sales on exchanges were not securities (because buyers did not have a reasonable expectation of profit from Ripple’s efforts). Institutional sales to sophisticated buyers were securities sales. The partial win allowed Ripple to resume XRP-related business with U.S. exchanges.
  • Long was a prominent spokesperson during the post-ruling period, articulating Ripple’s view that the ruling was a landmark win for the entire crypto industry.

Key Dates

  • 2013 — Joins Ripple as first communications hire.
  • 2013–2022 — Builds marketing, communications, and business development leadership across multiple senior roles.
  • December 2020 — SEC files lawsuit against Ripple and executives Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen.
  • Early 2023 — Appointed President of Ripple.
  • July 13, 2023 — Partial court ruling in SEC v. Ripple; XRP exchange sales ruled not securities.
  • 2023–2024 — Ripple expands global payment network under Long’s operational leadership.

Common Misconceptions

  • “Monica Long is the CEO of Ripple.” — She is the President. Brad Garlinghouse is the CEO. The President role at Ripple is operationally focused while the CEO is the public face for major corporate and industry-level decisions.
  • “The SEC lawsuit result means XRP is entirely cleared of being a security.” — The July 2023 ruling only addressed programmatic (exchange) sales. The case found that Ripple’s institutional sales of XRP to sophisticated investors were unregistered securities offerings. The full implications of the ruling are still being litigated and the SEC appealed portions of the decision.

Last updated: 2026-04

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