David Schwartz Steps Down as Ripple CTO After 13 Years

Schwartz’s departure and legacy

David Schwartz, Ripple’s long-serving Chief Technology Officer and one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger, has announced he will step down from his executive role at the end of 2025. The news was shared via a post on X on Tuesday, marking the end of a 13-year tenure that saw Schwartz play a central role in shaping Ripple’s technical roadmap and the broader XRP ecosystem. Schwartz wrote:

“The time has come for me to step back from my day-to-day duties as Ripple CTO. But be warned, I’m not going away from the XRP community.”

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

While Schwartz did not cite a specific reason for his decision, he indicated that he looks forward to spending more time with his family, returning to coding, and revisiting personal hobbies. He emphasized that his departure from the CTO role does not mean a complete break from Ripple.

Schwartz will stay involved as CTO Emeritus and will also join Ripple’s board of directors at the invitation of co-founder Chris Larsen.

Schwartz joined Ripple in 2011 as a cryptographer and was appointed CTO in 2018. Over the years, he played a pivotal role in guiding the development of the XRP Ledger, leading significant upgrades such as the introduction of a native automated market maker, programmable tokens, and reductions in transaction fees. More recently, he contributed to the launch of Ripple’s stablecoin RLUSD in late 2024.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse called Schwartz a “true OG in crypto” and expressed appreciation for his continued involvement in a board-level capacity. “I’m not taking our weekly check-ins off the calendar,” Garlinghouse noted in his own X post.

The smartest (and maybe the funniest) person I know. A true OG in crypto with the conviction and vision to see what others couldn’t – you are a legend. Thank you David for everything you’ve done for the industry, for Ripple and for the XRP Ledger. We are all forever grateful…… https://t.co/tt4uX4JlkV

— Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) September 30, 2025

Ripple’s strategic outlook and rising competition

Dennis Jarosch, Ripple’s Senior Vice President of Engineering, is slated to succeed Schwartz as CTO in 2026. Schwartz expressed full confidence in Jarosch and the broader XRP community to carry the project forward.

Schwartz’s departure comes at a crucial juncture for Ripple, which continues to position the XRP Ledger as core infrastructure for cross-border payments. However, the competitive landscape is heating up. Bitfinex recently launched Plasma, a zero-fee blockchain for USDT transactions, while Swift and several global banks are piloting payment systems on Ethereum layer 2 network Linea. Additionally, Stripe and Paradigm are collaborating on a new payments-focused blockchain named Tempo.

In an August post on X, Schwartz acknowledged these developments, stating:

“We’ve been seeing more and more players in the payments and stablecoins space launch their own blockchains. To me, that’s a clear sign the market sees blockchain as core financial infrastructure.”

Despite stepping down, Schwartz reaffirmed his long-term commitment to the XRP ecosystem. “You haven’t seen the last of me—now or ever,” he wrote.