Ripple's David Schwartz says he cut XRP holdings from 26 million to 3 million

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Ripple’s David Schwartz says he cut XRP holdings from 26 million to 3 million

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Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz says he cut his holdings from around 26 million XRP to around 3 million XRP. He also reports far smaller Bitcoin and Ethereum positions, which drew criticism from XRP holders as the token fell.

Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz says he is down from around 26 million XRP to around 3 million XRP. His Bitcoin holdings fell from approximately 1,500 BTC to one BTC, and his Ethereum holdings declined from around 40,000 ETH to six ETH.

Schwartz discloses 2025 sales and tax bill

The discussion began on November 9, when a tax specialist posted about IRS Letter 6174 notices sent to cryptocurrency investors. Schwartz said he had received a similar notice and considered it a routine reminder about tax compliance.

Asked about his tax bill, he said he sold approximately 2.5 million XRP during 2025, most of which he received in 2020 and 2023. Those sales led to approximately $1.7 million in capital gains tax.

Discomfort with risk drives the selling

Schwartz attributes his decisions to a personal preference for avoiding financial risk. He wrote: "I am very uncomfortable with risk", adding that he has sold nearly all the digital assets he has ever held.

He still owns a considerable amount of Ripple stock, which he said already represents more financial risk than he would prefer. In addition, he arranges each XRP sale through an attorney at least 30 days before execution. The procedure is intended to prevent accusations that he trades on nonpublic information.

XRP holders question the sales as the token slides

The disclosures renewed criticism among XRP supporters who believe Ripple's leadership should show confidence in the token through personal holdings. XRP traded near $1.06 at press time, down over 3% over 24 hours.

That slide coincided with withdrawals from US spot XRP exchange-traded funds, which recorded approximately $10.42 million in net outflows on November 9, with Bitwise accounting for most of them. Schwartz's comments do not establish whether Ripple maintains a company-wide policy on executive cryptocurrency transactions.

Source: crypto.news

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