Ripple’s David Schwartz Says He Sold Most of His Crypto
David Schwartz says his holdings fell to about 3 million XRP, one bitcoin and six ether over time, while he retains substantial Ripple equity.
Key Notes
- Schwartz says his remaining holdings include about 3 million XRP, one bitcoin and six ether.
- The reductions occurred over years rather than in one newly announced liquidation.
- He retains substantial Ripple equity and remains a board member and CTO emeritus.
Former Ripple chief technology officer David Schwartz says he has sold most of the cryptocurrency he once held because he is uncomfortable with financial risk, leaving a portfolio of roughly 3 million XRP, one bitcoin and six ether.
The figures describe reductions from past peaks over several years. They do not represent a newly announced sale of the entire difference between his former and current balances.
Schwartz’s comments on X, reported by crypto.news on November 11, also distinguish his cryptocurrency holdings from his substantial investment in Ripple itself. He said he has not bought XRP in a long time and remains “very uncomfortable with risk.”
What Remains in His Crypto Portfolio
Schwartz put his XRP holdings at approximately 3 million tokens, compared with a high of around 26 million. His bitcoin position declined from roughly 1,500 BTC to one BTC, while his ether holdings fell from around 40,000 ETH to six.
Calculated from those rounded figures, his XRP balance is about 88.5% below its peak. The bitcoin reduction is approximately 99.9%, and the ether reduction exceeds 99.9%. The comparison does not identify when each position reached its peak or when individual disposals took place.
Those comparisons measure changes in coin quantities, rather than investment returns. Without a complete transaction history, they do not establish his sale proceeds, average execution prices or realized profits. The balances are his own disclosures, rather than an independently audited portfolio statement.
Ripple Shares Remain a Significant Exposure
Schwartz said he still owns a considerable amount of Ripple stock and that this investment alone exposes him to more risk than he would prefer.
Ripple’s company FAQ describes Ripple as a privately owned technology company and XRP as the native digital asset of the XRP Ledger. A holding in the company and a balance of the token are separate investments, even though Ripple uses XRP and contributes to the ledger’s development.
XRP pays network transaction costs, helps protect the ledger from spam and can bridge currencies on its decentralized exchange. Those functions differ from an equity investor’s ownership interest in a business.
His professional connection also continues. Ripple’s leadership page lists him as a board member, and the company identifies him as CTO emeritus in its XRP Community Day materials.
How He Describes His Sales Process
Schwartz separately disclosed selling approximately 2.5 million XRP in 2025. He also described arranging XRP sales through written plans agreed with an attorney at least 30 days before execution, intended to address concerns about trading on nonpublic information.
The disclosures arrive during a wider debate about cryptocurrency exposure, as Bitcoin’s risk-asset role faces renewed scrutiny. Schwartz’s account concerns his personal tolerance for volatility. It provides no transaction-level evidence tying his historical reductions to the market’s latest selloff.
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