Former Ripple CTO Urges Caution on XRP Ledger Meme Coins

David Schwartz, former Ripple chief technology officer, posted on X over the weekend that opening a trust line for the FUZZY token on the XRP Ledger was a routine technical action. He rejected community interpretations that the trust line amounted to an endorsement.

Schwartz wrote that opening the trust line “is not a vote of confidence in any specific project.” He said he has no direct involvement with FUZZY and knows no more about it than any other observer.

Explaining his reluctance to offer public endorsements, Schwartz said endorsements can amplify projects that harm investors and risk promoting bad actors. He added he had “no reason to think poorly of FUZZY itself.”

FUZZY is named after the Fuzzybear wallet, remembered for an early ledger trade that swapped 1 XRP for 1 BTC. The token is part of a recent surge of retail interest in meme coins on the XRP Ledger. Tokens including ARMY, PHNIX and RIPPY have posted sharp gains, and trading volumes have risen on platforms that list ledger-based tokens, including First Ledger and Magnetic.

Schwartz criticized attempts to treat meme coins as long-term holdings, writing that such positions “look ridiculous.” He also noted that meme coins can still exist as a form of online culture.

Reactions in the XRP community split. Some holders asked Schwartz to publicly back FUZZY after the trust line, interpreting the technical action as approval. Others supported his caution and urged influencers and developers not to pressure technical contributors for public endorsements.

The exchange underscored a tension on the XRP Ledger between technical network roles and community expectations for public signals. Schwartz sought to separate routine network operations from personal endorsements and highlighted the risks of lending authority to projects without full knowledge of their origin or risk profile.