David Schwartz Fends Off Criticism of His XRP Sales

TLDR

• David Schwartz has pushed back against criticism of his past XRP sales, and rejected claims that selling the token is morally inferior to holding it.
• He shared he sold the majority of his XRP at $0.10, because he never anticipated the token would climb as high as $0.25.
• Critics have called his early skepticism into question after XRP eventually outpaced his original price expectations.
• Schwartz contended that if investors believed there was even a 1% chance XRP would reach $10,000, the token’s price would already be much higher.
• The former Ripple CTO revealed he sold 40,000 ETH at $1.05 each, a stake that would now be worth millions of dollars.

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(SeaPRwire) –   David Schwartz has issued a response to criticism over his historical XRP sales and recent skeptical comments on XRP’s price outlook. He rejected claims that selling tokens signals weak belief in the project or counts as moral failure. He stated that market participants should make decisions that align with their own financial interests.

David Schwartz Responds to XRP Criticism and Past Trading Choices

David Schwartz said he sold most of his $XRP when the token’s price hit $0.10. He explained that during XRP’s early days, he never thought the token would reach $0.25. He acted on that belief to cut down his total XRP holdings.

Everyone had the exact same opportunity to buy and sell XRP that I did. I made the same choice with bitcoin and ETH, and no one seems to have an issue with that. I completely reject the idea that selling is somehow morally inferior to buying and have long encouraged everyone to sell when it’s…

— David ‘JoelKatz’ Schwartz (@JoelKatz) May 5, 2026

However, some XRP community members revisited his earlier skepticism after XRP surpassed the $0.25 threshold he never expected to hit. They argued that his early doubts match his current views on extreme bullish price targets for XRP. In response, Schwartz defended his track record and rejected all moral criticism of his actions.

He posted on X, “Everyone had the same opportunity to buy and sell $XRP that I did.” He also stated, “I utterly reject the idea that selling is somehow morally inferior to buying.” He added that he has long supported people selling when the move benefits their personal finances.

Schwartz also addressed extreme, ultra-bullish price forecasts for XRP. He questioned projections that put the token’s price at $100 or $10,000. He argued that rational investors would have already pushed the token’s price much higher if these projections were credible.

He said wealthy investors would buy large volumes of XRP if they believed there was a 1% chance of it hitting $10,000. According to him, that buying pressure would have already pushed XRP to at least $20. For this reason, he expressed clear doubt about these extreme predictions.

Past Bitcoin and Ethereum Sales Add Fuel to the Debate

Schwartz disclosed that he previously sold large amounts of Bitcoin and Ethereum when both were trading at low prices. He revealed that he sold 40,000 $ETH at $1.05 per token, earning a total of $42,000 from that sale at the time.

Today, those same 40,000 $ETH would be worth roughly $94.2 million. He confirmed that he currently holds fewer than 2 $ETH. He shared these details during public discussions about his history in the crypto space.

He also outlined his past Bitcoin holdings. He once held more than 1,000 $BTC. Later, he sold a large portion of his stake at $1,000 per coin, and sold nearly all of his remaining Bitcoin at $7,500.

Right now, he holds fewer than 1 $BTC. These disclosures sparked fresh scrutiny from parts of the XRP community, where critics have compared these earlier sales to his current stance on XRP’s price.

In response, Schwartz rejected the idea that crypto project builders must hold their tokens forever. He stated that he finds this line of reasoning illogical. However, he confirmed that he still holds more than one million $XRP.

He emphasized that he treated XRP, Bitcoin, and Ethereum the exact same way. He noted that very few people criticized his earlier sales of Bitcoin and Ethereum. He repeated that selling assets does not make anyone morally inferior.