Ripple Ex-CTO Says Low XRP Price Makes It More Expensive to Use for Payments and Exchanges

Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz has clarified his long-standing view that XRP cannot remain “dirt cheap.”

He explained that a lower XRP price can actually make the asset more expensive to use for payments and exchanges.

The clarification came after an X user revisited Schwartz’s 2017 remarks, asking what he meant when he previously suggested that XRP “can’t be dirt cheap.”

In response, Schwartz said the idea is often misunderstood, stressing that a low XRP price increases the cost of using the network rather than reducing it.

Key Points

• David Schwartz says low XRP price raises transaction costs, not lowers them.

• Lower XRP prices require more tokens to move value, increasing friction.

• Higher XRP prices improve efficiency by reducing tokens needed per transfer.

• Schwartz emphasizes XRP utility over price, unchanged since 2017.

Why a Low XRP Price Can Raise Costs

According to Schwartz, when XRP is priced lower, users need a much larger number of tokens to move value across the network. This increases friction for payments and exchanges, especially at scale.

In contrast, a higher XRP price allows the same value to be transferred using fewer tokens, making transactions more efficient. Specifically, it requires roughly 1 million XRP to move $1 million in value if XRP is at $1. However, if XRP were at $100 per coin, it would require only 10,000 tokens to move the same $1 million.

In other words, price and utility are closely related. For large payments, using millions of XRP units can create market impact, while higher prices reduce the number of tokens required for settlement.

It means that a low price for XRP actually makes it more expensive to use for payments and exchanges.

— David ‘JoelKatz’ Schwartz (@JoelKatz) January 29, 2026

Context Behind the Renewed Debate

The question followed a recent exchange in which a community member urged Schwartz to publicly dismiss XRP price targets of $50 to $100.

Schwartz declined to make definitive price statements, noting that he has been wrong before when estimating how high crypto assets could go.

He referenced past moments in crypto history when price levels once considered impossible were eventually reached, including Bitcoin’s early milestones and XRP’s own rise during previous market cycles.

No Change From His Original Position

Notably, this is not the first time Schwartz has addressed the topic. In July 2024, with XRP trading below $0.40, he reiterated that his original position—that XRP cannot remain “dirt cheap”—had not changed.

Higher XRP prices tend to align with deeper liquidity, which ultimately makes payments cheaper and more efficient. Lower prices, on the other hand, require more tokens per transaction and can strain markets during large transfers.

At its core, Schwartz’s argument is not about price predictions but about utility. His stance remains that XRP’s role as a bridge asset benefits from higher valuations because they reduce friction, improve liquidity, and lower the real cost of moving value across the network