Debates surrounding the XRP holdings of former Ripple Chief Technology Officer (CTO), David Schwartz, continue to emerge across the crypto market. New updates from an XRP researcher show just how many tokens Schwartz held and how much this would have been worth each year from 2012 to 2026 if he had never sold off his holdings.
How Much Ripple’s Ex-CTO’s XRP Holding Could Have Been Worth
A prominent crypto blockchain researcher, known as BankXRP, has released a new report on the value of the XRP stash once held by Schwartz. The findings detail how the value of the holdings could have grown over time before the former Ripple CTO sold his bags.
The report reveals that Schwartz once held 26 million XRP tokens, which saw massive swings as the price changed each year. In 2012, XRP’s value sat at $0.005, making his holdings worth $130,000 before the cryptocurrency hit $2.30 in 2017 during the bull market. At that time, the former Ripple executive’s stash could have been valued at approximately $59.8 million.
Following this, BankXRP said that Schwartz’s portfolio value would have plummeted when the XRP price fell to $0.19 in 2019, and would have risen again as the cryptocurrency’s value climbed back toward $1.00 in recent cycles. By 2024, after the massive rally, XRP’s average price sat at $2.08. This means the estimated value of Schwartz’s holdings would have been over $54 million.
For 2025 and 2026, the latest figures show that XRP traded at average prices of $1.84 and $1.40, respectively. These market rates would have kept the value of the former CTO’s total holdings between $36.4 million and $47.8 million during the last two years.
Notably, BankXRP said that Schwartz chose to sell a large portion of his tokens when the price was roughly $0.10 per token. This sell-off was not done in a single transaction. The former Ripple CTO had liquidated a large portion of his holdings in several waves between 2012 and 2020 as part of his de-risking strategy.
That specific sale earned him about $2.6 million at the time, but the market continued to fluctuate wildly afterward. On May 6, 2026, Schwartz noted on X that he “once had 26 million XRP” but now holds considerably less.
Schwartz Speaks On His Investment Strategy
Schwartz shared new details regarding his personal digital asset holdings and overall financial strategy on X this week. The former Ripple CTO revealed that he has moved a significant portion of his wealth away from direct crypto exposure, including XRP.
Schwartz explained that he prefers to limit his financial risk even though many of his past investments have been highly successful. He also clarified that he does not have much of his original XRP stash left because he dislikes risk and prefers a more conservative investment approach.
While he views cryptocurrency as a rare opportunity to build wealth, Schwartz said he is comfortable missing out on potential massive gains. This is because he chose to prioritize stability over the highest possible returns in a volatile market.
The former Ripple CTO also mentioned that he could have been a billionaire if he had been willing to take more risks with his portfolio. He believes that his current level of success matches the level of risk he has been prepared to accept over the years. Currently, his main tie to the blockchain industry comes from ownership of the Ripple stock. He said that the position gives him sufficient exposure to the crypto space while allowing his other finances to remain secure.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from Tradingview.com
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