Ripple’s CTO Says He Never Meant to Predict XRP’s Price-Really!

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Behold, the mighty David Schwartz, CTO Emeritus of Ripple, hath once more taken to the stage to defend an ancient riddle that hath stirred the crypto crowd like a spoon in a pot of molasses.

A. Mr. Schwartz stood firm in his 2017 musings, now under fresh scrutiny by the crypto crowd. B. He declared the old XRP post was about liquidity, not a crystal ball. C. His deleted Arbitrum posts stirred the pot, drawing more eyes to his recent explanations.

The exchange followed criticism from a user who accused him of misleading the XRP community, a charge as common as a riverboat captain’s tales. The debate centered on a 2017 thread where Schwartz discussed XRP liquidity and price levels, which he now claims was less a prophecy and more a lesson in arithmetic.

In the 2017 post, Schwartz argued that XRP could not be “dirt cheap” if it handled large global transaction volumes. He used a simple example to explain how liquidity needs could relate to transaction size, akin to a man needing a million apples to move a million dollars’ worth of goods-though one might wonder if he’s ever tried buying a loaf of bread with a million cents.

Schwartz wrote at the time, “It can’t be dirt cheap. That doesn’t make any sense.” He added that if XRP traded at $1, a user would need one million XRP to move $1 million. If XRP traded at $1 million, one XRP would move the same value. A logic so sound, it’s a wonder the stock market hasn’t adopted it.

Ripple Veteran Rejects Price Prediction Claims-Or Does He?

Schwartz said many users have taken the post as a promise of future XRP value. He pushed back on that reading, declaring the thread explained market mechanics, not a guaranteed price target. “I think it’s very simple,” he said, as if the entire crypto world were a child with a puzzle.

He added that some people still treat the post as proof that XRP was designed to have a high price. Schwartz said deleting the old thread could remove useful context and create more confusion. “Aye, there’s the rub,” one might say, if they were inclined to speak in Shakespearean tones.

Arbitrum Posts Also Face Scrutiny-Or So They Say

The discussion came after Schwartz deleted separate posts about Arbitrum’s decision to freeze more than 30,000 ETH linked to the KelpDAO exploit. He had first defended the intervention, comparing it to Bitcoin’s 2010 value overflow incident-a tale as old as time. Later, he said he deleted the posts because he had confused Arbitrum with another type of layer 2 network. A mix-up so profound, it’s a wonder he didn’t confuse his own name.

The move added more attention to his recent comments as XRP holders continued to debate his older statements. “It’s like a riverboat captain trying to navigate a maze,” one might mutter, if they were prone to metaphors.

The latest exchange shows how past XRP comments still shape community discussion years later. Schwartz continues to maintain that his 2017 remarks focused on liquidity, transaction capacity, and market depth rather than an XRP price forecast. A claim as believable as a pirate’s map to a treasure chest filled with confetti.

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2026-04-27 09:18