David Schwartz, co-creator of the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Ripple, has responded to renewed discussions about his personal XRP sales.
He clarified that he has never tried to hide how much of his crypto holdings he has sold. The discussion started after a Chainlink advocate brought up Schwartz’s earlier disclosure that he had sold most of his digital assets.
David Schwartz Confirms Selling 23M XRP
Schwartz explained that his transactions were already public knowledge. In his disclosure, the Ripple CTO Emeritus also revealed how much his crypto holdings have changed over the years.
It's not a secret. I think I'm down from a high of around 26 million XRP to around 3 million XRP. Down from around 1,500 BTC to 1 BTC. Down from around 40,000 ETH to 6 ETH.https://t.co/EnFjk9aXu1
— David 'JoelKatz' Schwartz (@JoelKatz) November 10, 2026
According to Schwartz, his XRP balance had fallen from a peak of approximately 26 million tokens to around 3 million XRP. This means he has sold roughly 23 million XRP over time.
His Bitcoin and Ethereum balances have also dropped considerably. Schwartz’s Bitcoin holdings have fallen from approximately 1,500 BTC to just 1 BTC. His Ethereum balance has also dropped from roughly 40,000 ETH to only 6 ETH.
This shows that his decision to sell was not limited to XRP, as he has also reduced most of his positions in the other two crypto assets.
According to him, the decision comes from his cautious approach to financial risk. Schwartz previously explained that he and his wife agreed to reduce their crypto holdings whenever their investments reached new highs.
This arrangement influenced several of his major selling decisions and encouraged him to take profits instead of to continue holding large positions as prices increased.
Schwartz Sold 2.5M XRP in 2025 and Paid $1.7M in Taxes
The latest discussion about Schwartz’s XRP sales followed an exchange with a concerned investor. The investor questioned Schwartz about what he considered token dumping and raised concerns about the taxes he might have to pay on the XRP he sold during the year.
Schwartz responded with details of his 2025 transactions. He confirmed that he sold approximately 2.5 million XRP during the year, most of which came from tokens he had received in 2020 and 2023. He also revealed that he paid approximately $1.7 million in capital gains taxes on those sales.
Schwartz also explained that he follows a strict process before selling any XRP. According to him, every sale must follow a written plan prepared with an attorney at least 30 days before the transaction takes place. He follows this process to meet legal requirements.
Schwartz Admits Fear Has Made Him More Cautious With Crypto
The former Ripple CTO also opened up about his attitude toward risk and how it has affected his investment decisions. He acknowledged that nearly every risk he has taken in the crypto market has worked out well.
However, he finds it difficult to become comfortable with taking more risks, despite understanding that his past results could justify a more aggressive approach.
He admitted that he has often taken less risk than he probably should have and expects to continue doing so. This suggests that his decision to sell large portions of his crypto holdings comes partly from personal concerns about losing money, not a lack of confidence in the assets themselves.
His Ethereum investment is an example of how this approach has affected his potential returns. Schwartz revealed that he sold about 40,000 ETH at $1.05 per token. The sale brought him roughly $42,000 at the time, but those tokens would be worth tens of millions of dollars at current Ethereum valuations.
Despite missing out on those potential gains, Schwartz has maintained that XRP generated more personal wealth for him than any other asset. This remains the case even after he spent years reducing his XRP holdings.
Former Ripple CTO Continues to Defend His XRP Sales
Schwartz stepped away from his daily responsibilities as Ripple’s CTO at the end of 2025 and took on the title of CTO Emeritus. However, he remains involved with the XRP Ledger ecosystem and continues to comment publicly on developments surrounding the network.
His continued involvement has kept him in the spotlight within the XRP community. While some members appreciate his contributions to the ecosystem, others have questioned his commitment to XRP because of the large number of tokens he has sold.
Schwartz has rejected the idea that selling XRP makes someone less committed to the asset or its underlying technology. He has argued that other investors had the same opportunity to buy and sell XRP as he did.