David Schwartz, Ripple’s former chief technology officer and one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger, has said he sold about 2.5 million XRP in 2025. He disclosed the sale on X while responding to a critic and said he paid about $1.7 million in capital gains tax on it.
The disclosure came during one of XRP’s worst weeks in months, as frustration over the token’s price grew across the community.
What Schwartz Said
A user replying to Schwartz called XRP a terrible investment and said nobody would blame him for selling. Schwartz answered that the $1.7 million he paid in capital gains tax “says otherwise.”
He said most of the XRP he sold in 2025 came from bonuses Ripple paid him for his work in 2020 and 2023. His point was that large capital gains tax bills come from profitable investments, not losing ones.
What The Tax Bill Suggests About His Sale Price
Schwartz did not say what price he sold at. A breakdown by one crypto analyst used his tax figure to estimate it:
- Tax rate: Long-term federal capital gains tax at his income level is 23.8%. California adds up to 13.3%, for a combined rate of about 37%.
- Profit: A $1.7 million tax bill at that rate points to a gain of about $4.6 million.
- Starting value: XRP traded mostly below $0.30 in 2020 and between $0.40 and $0.60 in 2023. That puts the value of the bonus tokens, when he received them, at about $500,000 to $1.5 million.
- Total sale: Adding cost and profit gives total proceeds of roughly $5 million to $6 million.
That works out to about $2 to $2.40 per XRP if California’s top rate applied, and closer to $3 if no state tax was paid. Because his exact cost basis and tax situation are not public, the estimate covers a wider range of $2 to $3.50. XRP reached $3.65 in July 2025, its highest level in seven years.
A Long-Standing Selling Rule
There is no sign the sale was based on inside information. Schwartz has said in the past that, around 2012, he and his wife agreed to sell some of their crypto every time it hit a new high, to lock in gains and cut risk.
“I really, really hate risk,” Schwartz has said.
According to his past comments, that rule led him to sell Bitcoin at $750, sell 40,000 Ether at about $1 each and begin selling XRP at around $0.10. He has said he now regrets some of those sales.
How Much XRP Schwartz Still Holds
Schwartz has said he once held about 26 million XRP and now holds about 2 million. He has described Ripple’s stock, not XRP, as his main bet in the industry.
He has also said he does not want XRP’s price to depend on how Ripple performs as a company. Schwartz originally sold Bitcoin to buy XRP, and has said XRP has made him more money than either Bitcoin or Ethereum.
Why It Matters
The disclosure lands at a sensitive time. XRP is trading below $1.10, about 70% under its record high, and many holders are questioning Ripple’s commitment to the token. Some critics may read the sale as an insider cashing out.
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