David Schwartz, a co-creator of the XRP Ledger and Ripple CTO Emeritus, has revealed that he sold the majority of his XRP holdings, addressing criticism from community members who accused him of offloading tokens on retail investors.
Schwartz addresses sales and motives
Schwartz once held as many as 26 million XRP. By August 2026, his position had decreased to approximately 2 million tokens. In a recent post on X, Schwartz directly responded to questions about his XRP sales, noting, “I think I’m down from about 26 million at my peak to about 2 million now.” He explained that while some XRP was given as gifts or transferred, most of his overall reduction resulted from direct sales on the open market.
During 2025 alone, Schwartz sold around 2.5 million XRP. To provide transparency and dispel concerns over insider activity, he publicly posted a tax bill totaling $1.7 million. According to Schwartz, most of the XRP cashed out stemmed from bonus compensation related to his role at Ripple in 2020 and 2023. He stated his intent was to be transparent about his actions in response to ongoing allegations that Ripple insiders were benefiting at the expense of regular investors.
Schwartz openly addressed his sales, providing evidence of a $1.7 million tax obligation and stating that most XRP sold originated from past compensation rather than routine trading, in an effort to clarify his motives to the XRP community.
Approach to risk and regrets
Schwartz disclosed that he began selling XRP when its price reached $0.10, believing it unlikely to ever climb to $0.25. He applied similar caution to other digital assets, having sold his 40,000 ETH at a price of $1.05. Reflecting on these decisions, Schwartz commented, “Obviously, I wish I hadn’t done those things.”
His approach was methodical and pre-planned. Together with his wife, Schwartz followed a personal policy of selling a proportion of holdings each time the price reached a new all-time high, prioritizing personal comfort over the pursuit of the highest possible returns. He has stated that this strategy allowed him to “sleep better at night.”
He reaffirmed his aversion to risk in a recent X post, writing, “I am very uncomfortable with risk and have sold nearly all of the digital assets I’ve ever held.” Schwartz noted that even his holdings in Ripple stock, which are not liquid or publicly traded, represent more exposure than he prefers.
Shift toward Ripple equity
Schwartz has transitioned much of his personal wealth from cryptocurrencies into Ripple equity. While Ripple shares lack the liquidity of XRP and cannot be traded on open markets, this move aligns his financial interests with the company’s broader success rather than the often volatile token price.
He acknowledged the challenge posed by balancing logic and personal comfort, writing that although most of his past risk-taking in the crypto sector has been successful, his discomfort with risk prevents him from increasing his exposure.
For many XRP holders, Schwartz’s journey is seen as both a transparent account of his strategy and a lesson in risk management within the digital asset sector.
Mini dictionary: Ripple is a San Francisco-based financial technology company best known for its digital payment protocol and the XRP cryptocurrency. David Schwartz is its CTO Emeritus and one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger, which serves as the foundation for the XRP token’s decentralized operations.
| Asset | Peak Holding | Holding by Aug 2026 | Average Sale Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| XRP | 26 million | 2 million | Varied (some at $0.10) |
| ETH | 40,000 | 0 | $1.05 |
Schwartz emphasized personal comfort as his guiding principle, explaining that fixed rules for selling at all-time highs and a low tolerance for risk influenced his approach to both XRP and other digital assets.
