TL;DR
- David Schwartz says he now holds about 2 million XRP, down from a peak of roughly 26 million.
- The Ripple CTO emeritus did not explain whether the reduction came entirely from sales, leaving room for transfers, gifts or other transactions.
- His history of selling XRP and 40,000 ETH early shows a long-standing focus on managing risk, rather than maximizing speculative gains.
Ripple CTO emeritus David Schwartz has offered a fresh look at his personal XRP holdings, saying he now owns about 2 million tokens.
Schwartz responded on X after a user asked whether he had sold all of his XRP. He rejected that implication, explaining that his holdings have fallen from a peak of roughly 26 million XRP to about 2 million now. Because he used the phrase “I think,” the figure should be treated as an approximate estimate rather than a precise wallet balance.
The change represents a reduction of about 92% from his reported peak. However, Schwartz did not provide a transaction-by-transaction explanation for the decline. That leaves several possibilities, including sales, transfers, gifts or spending, rather than assuming that every token was sold into the market.
I think I'm down from about 26 million at my peak to about 2 million now.
— David 'JoelKatz' Schwartz (@JoelKatz) August 17, 2026
XRP Holdings Reflect A Long-Term Risk Strategy
Schwartz’s history helps put the latest disclosure in perspective. He has previously explained that he sold substantial amounts of XRP when the token traded around $0.10, largely because he wanted to reduce personal exposure to crypto volatility. Recent reporting also noted that his remaining crypto exposure is concentrated in XRP and Ripple equity, reinforcing that he has not abandoned the asset or the company behind much of its ecosystem.
Schwartz is also closely associated with the development of the XRP Ledger. He stepped back from daily responsibilities at the end of 2025 and became CTO emeritus while joining Ripple’s board. Dennis Jarosch took over day-to-day technical leadership, marking a transition in Ripple’s engineering structure while Schwartz retained a connection to the company at the board level.
XRP History Includes A Costly Ethereum Lesson
His investment history also includes one of crypto’s better-known early selling stories. Schwartz has said he bought 40,000 ETH at about $0.311 and later sold the position around $1.05. He used the proceeds to buy solar panels, only to watch Ethereum climb dramatically afterward.
That experience helps explain why Schwartz emphasizes uncertainty and risk management when discussing digital assets. His latest XRP disclosure follows the same pattern. Rather than presenting a maximalist price forecast, he is showing that his personal position has changed substantially while retaining meaningful exposure.
