When asked by a prominent XRP Ledger developer what he is currently accumulating other than XRP, Ripple Chief Technology Officer Emeritus David Schwartz had a brief and blunt response: “Haters.”
Does Schwartz actually have haters?
Schwartz is one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger, and it might be surprising that he actually has haters.
Interestingly, his most aggressive detractors are rarely rival developers or Bitcoin maximalists (even to light he also gets some criticism from this group).
His critics are deeply entrenched factions of the “XRP Army.”
Schwartz frequently clashes with ultra-bullish community members who demand aggressive price predictions or promote wild conspiracies.
Schwartz approaches the market cautiously, and his comments frustrate investors looking for confirmation bias.
Over the past few months of 2026, Schwartz has been unusually active in batting down rumors and addressing criticism regarding both his personal financial decisions and the operational reality of the XRP Ledger.
Earlier this month, Schwartz revealed that he sold the vast majority of his XRP at around $0.10 because he didn’t believe it would reach $0.25 in its early days.
He also disclosed selling 40,000 ETH at $1.05 and dumping most of his Bitcoin between $1,000 and $7,500.
As reported by U.Today, Schwartz recently sparked a massive debate by stating he does not feel comfortable predicting XRP will reach the $50 to $100 range.
Schwartz has also fought off viral rumors claiming Ripple had secret “pre-allocated” XRP contracts reserved for institutional elites. He also dismissed ridiculous narratives about Ripple being engaged in covert government partnerships.
One of the most persistent controversies surrounding Schwartz involves a tweet from November 2017 that resurfaced heavily in April 2026.
In the original post, Schwartz stated that if XRP were to handle large-scale global transactions, it “couldn’t be dirt cheap.” Over the years, many XRP holders interpreted this as a promise or guarantee.
However, he recently clarified that the 2017 statement was never a price prediction.
The architect behind the XRP Ledger has to deal with the difficulty of providing dry and highly technical explanations in an ecosystem that is largely driven by financial emotion.
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