The dust has started to settle on news that Ripple’s long-term CTO David Schwartz is stepping back from his role at the leading cryptocurrency firm. This is how the story unfolded.
Schwartz’s Big Pivot: A New Chapter for XRP
Last night, David posted how he had been taking stock of his last 40 years. How this had led him to post on X that “The time has come for me to step back from my day-to-day duties as Ripple CTO at the end of this year. I’m really looking forward to spending more time with the kids and grandkids and going back to the hobbies I 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 playfully assured XRP enthusiasts that he would stick around. XRP’s price has remained resilient despite the news. And why wouldn’t it have? The last few months have been some of the most successful in the history of Ripple and XRP. Big things are happening around the cryptocurrency. David’s stepping back may seem untimely with this backdrop, which is why he is staying on as CTO Emeritus and as a board member of Ripple.
Is he really “stepping back” bearing in mind David’s continued involvement with Ripple?
Community Roars, SWIFT Looms
The CEO of Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, took to X to comment the news. He made a light-hearted poke at David, whom he refers to as a true OG in crypto, by asking “Wait…does this mean you’re my new boss now!?!”
With SWIFT, often seen as a rival to Ripple’s cross-border payment solutions, making waves this week, some online commentators are less than impressed with the move by David. Crypto Bitlord posted how it was ironic how $XRP was being replaced overnight by the very thing it sought to replace, referring to an announcement from SWIFT at SIBOS in Frankfurt this week.
SWIFT has, together with a group of over 30 global financial institutions, begun designing and developing a shared digital ledger.
A few hours earlier the Crypto Bitlord had been advising followers that it was time to sell XRP. He suggested that the leadership team at Ripple had “admitted failure” through David stepping down.
Elsewhere, WrathofKahneman posted on X how Brad won’t be able to reign in David’s tweets anymore. Generally, most online commentators have seen the positives in David’s announcement, not the negatives.
The online commentary from leading crypto publications has been largely positive too. Some have heralded the huge impact David has had in the crypto ecosystem. Others have commented on how he will be one of the most sought-after advisors in crypto today.
Fortunately for XRP enthusiasts, the cryptocurrency has lost neither its attractiveness to investors nor its competitive advantage. UnknownDLT commented how David stepping down as CTO was happening right before XRP ETFs and global ISO 20022 adoption. He suggested three months of glory ahead.
Ripple should keep an eye on developments at SWIFT, of course. However, the reshuffle at the top of Ripple has not halted enthusiasm or demand for XRP. Nor, for the moment, does it seem that anything will.
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Author: Andy Samu
The editorial team at #DisruptionBanking has taken all precautions to ensure that no persons or organizations have been adversely affected or offered any sort of financial advice in this article. This article is most definitely not financial advice.
See Also:
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