Former Ripple CTO David Schwartz says he has significantly reduced his crypto holdings
David Schwartz posted on X on November 10, 2026, saying that his personal crypto holdings had fallen from a peak of about 26 million XRP to about 3 million XRP, Bitcoin from about 1,500 coins to 1 coin, and Ethereum from about 40,000 coins to 6 coins.
Schwartz is a co-creator of the XRP Ledger and previously served for many years as Ripple’s chief technology officer, stepping down from the CTO role at the end of 2025. He said he really hates risk and had agreed with his wife to sell part of his holdings each time the coin price hit a new high. He said he had not bought XRP for a long time and had sold almost all of his digital assets.
He still holds a substantial amount of Ripple company stock and said that this portion of equity has exceeded his ideal risk tolerance. Previously, he had sold his early Ethereum holdings at around $1.05.
Original source:
Title: It's not a secret. I think I'm down from a high of around 26 million XRP to around 3 million XRP...
Posted by: David 'JoelKatz' Schwartz (@JoelKatz)
Date posted: 2026-11-10
URL: x.com/JoelKatz/status/2120281421940146625
Source type: original post
Verification status: Full reading of the original post was completed for this report, verification date 2026-11-12, with no access restrictions
Supporting content: Supports Schwartz’s self-report that his holdings fell from about 26 million XRP to about 3 million, about 1,500 BTC to 1 coin, and about 40,000 ETH to 6 coins, and quotes his agreement with his wife to sell at new highs and his low risk appetite. It does not prove that all sales have been completed on-chain or the specific transaction details.
ABAB AI Insight
As a core architect of the XRP Ledger, David Schwartz’s changes in personal holdings are related to the project’s long-term development cycle. In XRP’s early stage, he held a large number of tokens and then gradually reduced exposure through staggered sales. His public remarks show that the reduction strategy was based on personal risk preferences and a family agreement, rather than a denial of the project’s fundamentals.
Consistent with his earlier sale of 40,000 Ether at around $1.05, Schwartz has long adopted the practice of cashing out part of his holdings when prices reach new highs. This pattern separates his personal liquidity needs from price volatility, rather than clearing out positions all at once at a single point in time. By retaining about 3 million XRP while nearly liquidating Bitcoin and Ethereum, he still maintains some exposure to the native project token.
He still holds Ripple equity and views that portion as exposure that has exceeded his ideal risk level. As private company equity, this asset differs from publicly traded tokens in liquidity and valuation mechanisms. Schwartz stepped down as CTO at the end of 2025 but remains associated with the company, and his public statement mainly concerns his personal asset allocation rather than company-level decisions.
The public material only reflects his self-reported changes in holdings and motivations, and does not provide specific sale times, prices, or blockchain address verification. Such reductions by founders or early core developers usually reflect personal financial planning more than a direct judgment on the project’s technical direction or token utility.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
Early core developers can separate personal liquidity from the project’s long-term development through staggered sales.
Under a stated low-risk appetite, retaining project tokens while clearing out other major coins still constitutes selective exposure.
Self-reported changes in holdings are not the same as a fully verifiable on-chain transaction record.