Ripple CTO David Schwartz to Exit Role By Year-End, Stay On As Advisor

Ripple CTO David Schwartz announced Tuesday he will step down at the end of the year after more than a decade at the company.

Schwartz, who helped code the XRP ledger, said in a post on X that he wanted to spend more time with his family and return to hobbies he had long set aside.

“But be warned, I’m not going away from the XRP community. You haven’t seen the last of me (now, or ever),” he wrote.

Although leaving his executive role, Schwartz will remain involved with Ripple. He will take a seat on the company’s board of directors and serve as CTO Emeritus, a position that will allow him to stay connected while pursuing personal projects.

As happens in one’s life, I’ve been taking stock of my last 40 years. It’s been a wild ride. I’ve gone from consulting for the NSA to watching the early stages of Bitcoin. Then, I met Arthur, Jed, and Chris and worked on coding the XRP Ledger. Now, I’ve spent more than 13 years…

— David 'JoelKatz' Schwartz (@JoelKatz) September 30, 2025

Ripple CEO Welcomes Schwartz’s Continued Role On Board

He explained that in recent months, he has been running his own XRPL node, publishing data and exploring new use cases for XRP outside Ripple’s core business. He added he looked forward to spending more time coding, talking to developers and experimenting with applications that go beyond payments.

“I’ll still be in and out of the Ripple office as CTO Emeritus, and as my last task at Ripple, Chris asked me to join Ripple’s Board of Directors to continue supporting the company’s mission and long-term vision…and I accept,” he said.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse praised Schwartz in his own post, calling him a “true OG in crypto with the conviction and vision to see what others couldn’t.” He added that their regular check-ins would continue and showed relief that Schwartz would remain close as part of the board.

Court Settlement Ends Shadow Of SEC’s $1.3B Lawsuit

Schwartz’s departure marks the end of a chapter at Ripple. He worked closely with CEO Brad Garlinghouse during the company’s long legal battle with US regulators. The SEC had sued Ripple in 2020, claiming it raised US$1.3 billion by selling XRP as an unregistered security.

That lawsuit weighed heavily on Ripple. It also shaped debate across the digital asset market about how cryptocurrencies should be regulated. After years of hearings and appeals, the case finally ended in Aug. 2025. A court approved a settlement between Ripple and the SEC, which many viewed as a milestone for the industry.

Now, as Schwartz prepares to scale back, Ripple is looking ahead. The company is positioning itself for a post-litigation era with more regulatory clarity. At the same time, his continued role on the board signals that Ripple still values his technical expertise, even as he steps away from daily operations.

XRP traded 1.5% lower on Tuesday at $2.84, bringing its losses over the past week to 6.5%.