Ripple’s (XRP-USD) Chief Technology Officer David Schwartz confirmed this week that he will step down from his day-to-day role at the end of 2025. After 13 years helping to build the company’s technology and co-create the XRP Ledger, Schwartz said it was time to focus on family, personal projects, and hands-on development outside his executive responsibilities.
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Schwartz stressed that he is not leaving Ripple entirely. He will join the company’s board of directors, hold the honorary title of CTO Emeritus, and remain active in the XRP Ledger ecosystem. In a farewell post, he called the experience one of the greatest honors of his life and promised the community “you have not seen the last of me.”
Bitlord Calls to Sell XRP
The announcement triggered mixed reactions across the XRP community. While many celebrated Schwartz’s legacy, influential early investor Crypto Bitlord used the news to deliver a blunt message: “time to sell XRP.”
Bitlord argued that Schwartz’s exit reflects deeper issues. He said Ripple still relies too heavily on XRP token sales for revenue and lacks sustainable cash flow. In his view, the company’s focus may now be shifting toward an eventual IPO rather than strengthening XRP’s position in global payments.
Investor Frustration Grows
Bitlord’s criticism is not new. Once one of XRP’s loudest supporters, he has grown frustrated after holding the token for more than a decade without seeing the kind of explosive price action that transformed other early crypto investments.
He previously warned that if XRP ever slipped back to $2, he would “sell every last cent,” calling it evidence of a failed bet. For him, the lack of “life-changing returns” remains proof that XRP has underdelivered compared with its promises.
Ripple Faces Competition from SWIFT
The criticism comes at a sensitive time for Ripple. Just days before Schwartz’s announcement, SWIFT revealed it was building a blockchain-based shared ledger in collaboration with Consensys and more than 30 major banks.
Ripple spent years pitching XRP as a replacement for SWIFT’s global payment network. Now with SWIFT adopting blockchain directly, some analysts say XRP’s value proposition is eroding. Large financial institutions appear more comfortable upgrading their existing infrastructure rather than adopting a new token-based system.
Schwartz Stays Involved
Despite the skepticism, Schwartz insisted his move is a personal decision. He emphasized his ongoing commitment to Ripple and the XRP Ledger community, saying he plans to return to hands-on coding, testing new applications, and supporting independent builders.
Schwartz also expressed confidence in Ripple’s next generation of leaders and stressed that innovation on the ledger remains one of his top priorities. While some investors view his departure as a warning sign, others see his continued presence as reassurance that XRP will not lose its founding vision.
At the time of writing, XRP is sitting at $2.9294.
