Former Ripple CTO: 26M XRP made him richer than BTC, ETH

David Schwartz, a co-founder and former chief technology officer of Ripple, wrote on X on May 12, 2026 that his 26 million XRP stake produced more personal wealth than his roughly 1,000 Bitcoin and 40,000 Ethereum holdings, even after years of selling.

Schwartz helped design the XRP Ledger and stepped down from the CTO role earlier this year. He said his early XRP allocation, accumulated as a co-founder, ultimately outpaced his Bitcoin and Ethereum positions in lifetime returns.

He once held about 26 million XRP, roughly 1,000 BTC and 40,000 ETH but has reduced each holding over time. On X he posted a one-line assessment: “XRP by far.”

XRP reached an all-time high of $3.65 in July 2025 and traded near $1.46 in May 2026. Those price moves produced a multi-million dollar gain from his founding XRP stake even after years of gradual sales. XRP ranks fourth by market capitalization.

Schwartz reported selling his Ethereum at about $1.05 per token and has said he regretted that sale after ETH later rose to levels thousands of dollars higher. He also trimmed his Bitcoin holdings from roughly 1,000 coins to fewer than one, selling well before Bitcoin approached six-figure prices.

He has described himself as risk-averse and prefers locking in gains. Schwartz noted that his major crypto bets did better than he expected, but he still struggles to take on more risk emotionally. Asked what he would tell a younger version of himself, he advised taking more risk in crypto while acknowledging his younger self likely would not have followed that advice.

Schwartz says his remaining exposure is concentrated almost entirely in XRP and in Ripple equity. Ripple is a privately held company with an estimated valuation around $40 billion.

His public comments provide a view of how one of XRP’s earliest architects managed token allocations as markets and prices changed.