David Schwartz Says XRP Would Already Be Higher if $10,000 Target Were Credible

David Schwartz, former Ripple CTO and now CTO Emeritus, recently addressed claims that XRP could reach $10,000. 

In his commentary, Schwartz suggested that if enough wealthy investors genuinely believed that XRP had a chance at reaching $10,000, the ensuing buying pressure from these individuals would have since pushed the price to at least $20.

Key Points

• Schwartz says if rich investors believed XRP could hit $10,000, they would have already pushed the price to at least $20.
• The former Ripple CTO once doubted XRP could reach $0.25, and even sold portions of his holdings at $0.10.
• XRP currently trades at $1.37, way above the price levels Schwartz once thought were unrealistic.

Ex Ripple CTO on Chances of XRP Hitting $10,000

The recent comments from David Schwartz came on the back of a discussion within the XRP community on X, where a user asked him to respond to a popular pricing formula that some crypto influencers have built an entire industry around. 

Notably, the formula in question is the crypto version of Chris Burniske’s equation, Price = PQ / (V × S), and influencers have used it to back projections of a $10,000 future for XRP. The user asked Schwartz to share his thoughts, especially for investors holding XRP with that expectation in mind.

In his reply, Schwartz said that if even a small group of very wealthy and rational investors believed there was a 1% chance XRP could reach $10,000 within 10 years, they would already be buying heavily. This would have been an effort to secure their positions before the $10,000 price materializes.

However, Schwartz further suggested that such buying activity would have pushed the XRP price above the current level, reaching at least $20. He then questioned why this sort of buying activity has not yet happened, implying that rational and wealthy investors do not believe in the $10,000 price.

Another community member argued that wealthy individuals focus more on protecting their money than chasing risky opportunities. In response, Schwartz said wealthy people often protect their wealth by taking risks that others are not comfortable taking, such as the scenario he presented.

Schwartz Speaks on Crypto Tribalism 

Meanwhile, Schwartz also shared thoughts regarding crypto tribalism during the ongoing XRP Las Vegas conference. He said Ripple should not try to block others or dominate the space, insisting that the industry should remain open so that innovation and competition can grow.

The former Ripple CTO then criticized extreme views within the crypto community. Schwartz said Bitcoin maximalists are wrong in their thinking, but he added that some XRP supporters also take things too far. 

He explained that what first drew him to crypto was Bitcoin’s early idea of replacing outdated systems that mainly benefit established players with better and more efficient technology.

Past Misjudgments

Following his comments, UnknowDLT, an XRP community, argued that Schwartz compares real-world XRP use with hypothetical situations in a way that weakens his argument. He rejected the idea that XRP cannot reach higher prices just because wealthy investors have not pushed it higher yet.

In a separate disclosure, UnknowDLT called attention to previous comments from Schwartz earlier in the year. Notably, when someone asked in January if XRP could realistically reach $100, Schwartz said he did not think it would happen. However, he also admitted that he had been wrong about XRP’s potential in the past.

Schwartz explained that in XRP’s early days, he found it hard to believe it would ever reach $0.25. As a result, he sold some of his holdings when the price rose to $0.1. Today, XRP trades at $1.37, showing how much the asset has grown beyond his earlier expectations.

In the past, Schwartz has also admitted to similar mistakes with other cryptocurrencies. He said he sold his Ethereum holdings too early as well, showing that he has not always predicted the market correctly.