David Schwartz Voices His Influence Over XRP Price

David Schwartz has never claimed to control the XRP market. But he is no longer pretending he has zero effect on it either.

The former Ripple chief technology officer and original XRP Ledger architect addressed community accusations on X, responding to users who hold him partly responsible for XRP’s prolonged price slump. He stopped short of a full denial.

“Can I honestly say that I have nothing to do with the price of XRP? I guess probably not nothing. But very little,” Schwartz wrote.

XRP has fallen roughly 50% over the past year, according to CoinMarketCap data. The token has recorded short-lived recoveries during that stretch, but the broader trend has moved consistently lower. Stellar (XLM), a payments-focused cryptocurrency with a comparable profile, has tracked a near-identical price trajectory over the same period.

Schwartz Draws a Line

The price comments came alongside a longer post in which Schwartz addressed a separate but related frustration: users following him into unrelated conversations to attack him.

Schwartz described a rise in replies that have no connection to crypto appearing beneath his posts on other topics, often containing accusations of fraud or scamming. He said he now blocks users who do this, regardless of whether their intent is hostile or supportive.

“I will block for this whether your post is a criticism or a compliment,” he wrote.

He made clear the issue is not criticism itself. Users who bring substantive objections into relevant threads will not face a block. His tolerance runs out when people track him across the platform to inject XRP grievances into unrelated discussions.

“Stalking me around X to find places where I’m talking on other people’s threads to say ‘scammer’ or even ‘XRP is great!’ angers the people I’m replying to, and that I will not tolerate,” he added.

Schwartz also left the door open for users already blocked. Anyone who can reach him and commits to stopping the behavior can be unblocked, he said, even those who hold a strongly negative view of him.

Still Tied to Ripple

Schwartz stepped back from day-to-day responsibilities at Ripple at the end of 2025 after more than a decade with the company. He has not cut ties entirely. He remains on Ripple’s board of directors and holds the title of CTO Emeritus.

Schwartz’s comments land at a moment when patience inside the XRP community is visibly wearing thin.