Ripple Veteran David Schwartz Says He Regrets Selling XRP at $0.10

XRP News

Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz has admitted he regrets offloading some of his earliest XRP and Ethereum, disclosing in a July 20 post on X that he sold XRP as low as $0.10 years ago. Responding to a user who resurfaced the trades, Schwartz said risk management, not lost conviction, drove the exits: “Obviously, I wish I hadn’t done those things.” The remarks land as XRP trades near $1.13. Schwartz, a co-creator of the XRP Ledger, has repeatedly revisited these early sales, framing them as a personality-driven aversion to volatility rather than a bet against the altcoin or the wider market.

The former Ripple technology chief tied the sales to a personal rule he set with his wife: reduce exposure every time his holdings printed a new all-time high. He described himself as someone who “really, really” hates risk and wishes he were more comfortable holding through volatility. That discipline meant scaling out systematically as prices climbed, well before XRP reached the levels seen in later cycles. Schwartz noted he once believed XRP hitting even $0.25 was improbable, underscoring how modest early expectations were. His candor offers a rare window into how one of the network’s architects managed personal exposure through crypto’s formative years.

Schwartz’s early XRP position was substantial. At his peak, he said, he held roughly 26 million XRP before steadily trimming it down over successive rallies. He has since confirmed he “does not have much left anymore,” telling followers in April that he had moved most personal assets away from direct crypto exposure, keeping his Ripple equity separate. Schwartz has acknowledged the tradeoff openly, conceding that crypto “may be a once-in-a-generation chance to get rich” and that his caution could cost him historic returns. For a builder so central to the ledger, the near-complete exit from a token he helped create is a striking personal footnote.

The regret extends beyond XRP to Ethereum, where Schwartz previously said he sold 40,000 ETH at about $1.05 each, near Ethereum’s early-cycle lows. He has defended that decision on probabilistic grounds rather than disbelief, arguing the odds simply did not justify holding. In his own framing, had he assigned even a 1% chance to ETH eventually reaching $2,368, he would not have sold at $1.05. Schwartz added he remained unsure the true odds were ever above that threshold at the time. The comments echo his broader theme: disciplined risk reduction repeatedly overrode the possibility of outsized upside during crypto’s most explosive growth phase.

Against that historical backdrop, XRP’s recent price action has turned constructive. On-chain and market data show the token opened July near $1.03 and climbed to a monthly high around $1.18 within days, a rebound of roughly 5% for the month so far. That recovery follows a punishing June, when XRP shed about 22% during a broad market drawdown that pushed sentiment toward bear market conditions. The bounce has coincided with renewed activity across the XRP Ledger ecosystem, including its native automated market maker. Holding the July gains through month-end would mark XRP’s strongest monthly performance since July 2025.

Analysts have layered a seasonal thesis over the move, noting that U.S. midterm-election years have historically favored XRP in July. Across the past three such years, July returns averaged roughly 14%: XRP gained 34.21% in July 2014, fell 6.97% in July 2018, and rose 14.21% in July 2022. Each of those years also featured a sharp June correction ahead of the July rebound, mirroring 2026’s pattern. If the average 14% return repeats, XRP could close the month near $1.18; a repeat of 2014’s 34% surge would lift it toward $1.39. Past performance guarantees nothing, but the setup has drawn attention as the month unfolds.

COINOTAG’s proprietary 42-indicator composite S/R scoring engine rates first resistance at $1.1446 a strong 67/100, driven by the confluence of the R2 pivot, EMA 50 and Ichimoku Senkou A, with the $1.2151 point-of-control zone scoring 63/100 from the POC and Fibonacci 0.382. On support, our engine scores $1.0937 an 80/100, anchored by the ATR lower band and Ichimoku Kijun. Derivatives data reinforce a cautiously bullish tilt: funding sits at 0.0050%, open interest at $702 million, and the long/short account ratio at 2.97 (74.8% long) — crowded longs that risk a squeeze. With RSI at 54.76, a MACD buy signal and a Fear & Greed reading of 25 (Extreme Fear), a break above $1.1446 opens $1.2151; losing $1.0937 invalidates the bullish case.