Ripple CTO Says It is Good not to Build Products that “Require” XRP

Schwartz made these remarks while shedding light on the role of XRP within the recently-unveiled CBDC platform from Ripple.

David Schwartz, Ripple’s CTO and one of the original architects of the XRP Ledger, recently mentioned that he believes it is beneficial for Ripple to avoid building products that necessitate the use of XRP. Schwartz said this while sharing some insight on the role of XRP within the recently-unveiled CBDC platform from Ripple. 

The latest remarks came as a follow-up to an earlier statement in which Schwartz debunked reports that institutions using the CBDC platform would not interact with XRP. As previously reported by The Crypto Basic, Schwartz confirmed that the CBDC platform can actually use XRP as a bridge currency.

Responding to this confirmation, an anonymous XRP community member asked him if the platform will actually make use of XRP, since he has stated that it “can.” Schwartz responded by saying that it’s difficult to predict the choices made by other people. 

It’s always difficult to predict what other people will choose to do. All we can do is remove technical barriers. I never recommend building products that require people to use XRP (unless they’re XRPL features) because that becomes a reason not to use the product …

— David “JoelKatz” Schwartz (@JoelKatz) May 19, 2023

According to him, Ripple’s approach is to remove technical barriers and not mandate the use of XRP unless it is necessary for specific features related to the XRP Ledger. “I never recommend building products that require people to use XRP (unless they’re XRPL features) because that becomes a reason not to use the product,” Schwartz said.

He argued that this allows a broader range of individuals, even those who have reservations about XRP, to use the platform, and consequently expands the potential user base while encouraging wider adoption for the product. 

“That something doesn’t require XRP is, IMO, good. Then even people who don’t like XRP can use it, and this grows the set of people who can easily use XRP when and if it provides them any benefits. And if XRP provides a benefit and there are no obstacles, why wouldn’t someone use it?” He remarked.

Ripple Gives Room for Choice

Another community member agreed with Schwartz and suggested granting people the freedom to choose the most efficient method according to their needs. Schwartz concured, stating that the act of giving this liberty gives room for the largest number of users. Among these users, the only individuals who would abstain from XRP would be the ones that could face potential repercussions from using the asset.

This is similar to the business model of RippleNet, Ripple’s global network of financial institutions. Notably, Ripple gives institutions that are on RippleNet the liberty to choose to use XRP as a bridge currency for cross-border payments or use any other digital asset.