Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz has stirred the XRP community by calling cryptocurrency a potential “once-in-a-generation” chance to build wealth, while simultaneously revealing his own highly conservative investment approach. In a series of posts on X, Schwartz acknowledged that digital assets like XRP could still deliver life-changing upside but made it clear he intentionally chose low-risk exposure. He rejected the “diamond hands” mentality, arguing that “extreme price targets aren’t priced in” and that markets assign low odds to outsized XRP outcomes. Instead, he favors risk management over chasing maximum gains, a stance he says should be driven by personal financial interests rather than online community pressure.
Schwartz’s comments gained added weight after community members recalculated his past holdings. Crypto commentator BankXRP highlighted that Schwartz once held 26 million XRP and sold a large portion when the token traded near $0.10, giving the stash an estimated value of about $2.6 million. Had he held, those tokens would have ballooned to nearly $59 million at later cycle peaks. Defending his early sales, Schwartz said every investor had the same chance to buy and sell across cycles, and he faced no such criticism for similar moves with Bitcoin and Ethereum. The episode has reignited debate within the XRP community over profit-taking vs. long-term conviction, with Schwartz insisting investors must prioritize their own financial well-being over community expectations.
