David Schwartz Just Debunked Major XRP Price Myth

Frustration is building among XRP investors. The token has shed more than 12% of its value in just seven days.

It is trading around $1.09, and community members are becoming increasingly vocal about what they see as a disconnect between XRP’s price and the growth of the XRP Ledger.

Ripple CTO Emeritus David Schwartz has weighed in on the current situation, in a series of posts on X. He addressed some of the assumptions driving that frustration, and challenged the idea that the XRP Ledger can succeed without some of that value going to XRP.

What is Not Driving XRP’s Price

Schwartz was clear about one thing: the argument that XRP’s use as a fee currency on the XRP Ledger will push its price higher is not one that serious analysts or developers have made. He distanced himself from that narrative entirely, suggesting it has taken on a life of its own without credible backing.

I really do think it's hard to believe we will end up in a world where XRPL is successful but XRP fails to capture a good fraction of that value.

— David 'JoelKatz' Schwartz (@JoelKatz) November 9, 2026

Why XRPL Success Still Matters for XRP

Where Schwartz did plant his flag was on the broader question of network adoption. Referencing a post he made in November 2025, he outlined why he believes a thriving XRP Ledger would almost certainly translate into value for XRP.

The token holds a unique position within the network. It carries no counterparty risk, and it is not tied to any single country’s legal framework. It also functions as the backbone of the ledger’s autobridging system, a feature that automatically routes trades through XRP when two currencies lack a direct market between them.

Taken together, these qualities mean XRP is not incidental to the ledger’s operation but central to it. Schwartz argued that imagining a version of events where the XRPL becomes a globally significant network while XRP captures none of that value is simply not realistic.

The Ledger’s Original Mission

Schwartz was also careful to separate the network’s design philosophy from price speculation. The XRP Ledger was built to move money quickly and cheaply, with decentralized exchange capabilities included from the beginning. Driving up the value of XRP was not part of that original mandate.

Schwartz on His Own Influence

Answering a question on whether he personally can move markets, Schwartz explained his influence. He acknowledged that his ability to affect XRP’s price is “probably not nothing,” but his influence is negligible. He described it as very little, if anything at all.