Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz has publicly regretted selling his early XRP and Ethereum holdings at prices that later appeared extremely low. In a July 20 post on X, Schwartz responded to a user highlighting his sales of XRP at $0.10 and Ethereum near $1, saying, "Obviously, I wish I hadn’t done those things."
Schwartz explained that his decisions were driven by a strong personal dislike of financial risk, not a lack of confidence in the assets. He revealed an agreement with his wife to sell whenever his crypto holdings reached new all-time highs, allowing them to lock in gains while gradually reducing exposure to volatility. This risk-averse strategy led him to unload significant portions of his positions long before the tokens saw massive price appreciation.
At one point, Schwartz held about 26 million XRP but steadily trimmed his holdings. He sold 40,000 ETH at roughly $1.05 each, and later noted that if he had perceived even a 1% chance of Ethereum hitting $2,368, he would not have sold. His Bitcoin holdings were also sold early at far lower prices.
Schwartz’s comments add personal context to his earlier trading decisions without offering new price predictions. While he regrets the missed returns, he stands by the philosophy that reducing risk sometimes means exiting an asset well before its peak.
