[DigitalToday reporter Yoonseo Lee] David Schwartz (데이비드 슈워츠), Ripple's former chief technology officer (CTO), said he sold about 2.5 million XRP in 2025 and has not bought additional XRP for a long time.
On Nov. 11 local time, blockchain media outlet The Crypto Basic reported that Schwartz said he has sharply reduced his cryptocurrency holdings and paid $1.7 million (about 2.27 billion won) in capital gains tax from the XRP sale.
The remarks came as an XRP community member asked about how much XRP Schwartz sold this year and his tax burden. Schwartz said his large-scale sale took place in 2025, and most of the tokens sold were performance compensation he received in 2020 and 2023.
He said he follows a written sale plan drafted with a lawyer at least 30 days before each sale of XRP. This was described as a measure to avoid controversy that he traded on information ordinary investors could not know, such as vulnerabilities or bugs in the XRP Ledger (XRPL), taking into account his position as an early designer of XRPL who is still involved in the ecosystem.
Asked whether he has been buying more, he said he has not bought XRP for a long time. He said he is very uncomfortable with investment risk and has sold most of the digital assets he has held over the years.
His holdings have also fallen sharply. Schwartz disclosed that his XRP holdings, once about 26 million, have dropped to around 3 million. He also said his bitcoin holdings fell from about 1,500 BTC to 1 BTC, and his ether holdings from about 40,000 ETH to 6 ETH. That means he has cut exposure across major cryptocurrencies, not only XRP.
Schwartz said he has not disposed of all of his XRP. He added that he holds a significant amount of Ripple stock, but even that alone is more risk than he wishes he had. It is in line with his existing investment tendency to prioritize reducing risk over maximizing returns.
The remarks are also tied to interpretations in the market about whether his XRP sales can be seen as a bearish signal. Based on Schwartz's disclosures alone, the sales appear closer to an overall risk-reduction strategy than a standalone judgment on XRP, because he also reduced his bitcoin and ether holdings overwhelmingly.
XRP was trading at about $1.05 and is down about 17 percent over the past seven days. In that situation, Schwartz's disclosure showed the direction of his personal portfolio more clearly. He is not building a new XRP position, but he is still maintaining exposure through millions of XRP and Ripple stock.
@WHTBOYRICKY @FWKBooks @CryptoTaxFixer I haven't bought XRP in a long time. I am very uncomfortable with risk and have sold nearly all of the digital assets I've ever held. I still hold quite a bit of Ripple stock, and that alone is more risk than I wish I had.
