David Schwartz, Ripple’s chief technology officer and one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger, disclosed earlier this month that his personal XRP holdings were once massive — 26 million tokens — but that he’s sold off the vast majority over the years. In a post on May 6, 2026, Schwartz noted he now holds ‘considerably less’ than that original pile, confirming a long-running de-risking strategy that netted him roughly $2.6 million in proceeds.
The 26 million XRP he once held
Schwartz’s disclosure puts a number on a stash that has fluctuated wildly in value as XRP’s price moved. Back in 2012, when XRP traded at $0.005, his 26 million tokens were worth just $130,000. By 2017’s peak at $2.30, the same stack would have been valued at roughly $59.8 million. At 2024’s average price of $2.08, it would have been worth more than $54 million. Even in 2025 and 2026, with averages of $1.84 and $1.40, the notional value stayed between $36.4 million and $47.8 million.
Why he sold — and what he got
Schwartz sold in several waves between 2012 and 2020, executing a de-risking strategy that prioritized safety over upside. The bulk went when XRP was around $0.10 per token, earning him about $2.6 million. He acknowledged that if he’d been willing to take more risk, he could have been a billionaire. Instead, he chose to move a significant portion of his wealth away from direct crypto exposure — including XRP — in favor of a conservative investment approach.
What he holds now
Schwartz didn’t give an exact figure for his current XRP balance, but the phrase ‘considerably less’ suggests a fraction of the original 26 million. His main tie to the blockchain industry today is ownership of Ripple stock, not a large crypto position. The timing of his disclosure is notable — XRP’s 2026 average price of $1.40 is down from previous years, though still far above its early days.
For longtime XRP holders watching Schwartz’s moves, the takeaway is straightforward: even the co-creator of the token treated it as an asset to diversify away from. The question now is whether other early Ripple employees followed a similar path, something Schwartz hasn’t commented on.
