In XRP news this week, David Schwartz, one of the designers of the XRP Ledger and Ripple’s chief technology officer emeritus, said on Tuesday that he has sold most of his XRP over the years. He put his peak holding at about 26 million XRP and his current stack at about 3 million.
“It’s not a secret,” Schwartz wrote on X, where he posts as JoelKatz. His Bitcoin and Ethereum went almost to zero too: from about 1,500 BTC to 1, and from about 40,000 ETH to 6.
It’s not a secret. I think I’m down from a high of around 26 million XRP to around 3 million XRP. Down from around 1,500 BTC to 1 BTC. Down from around 40,000 ETH to 6 ETH.https://t.co/EnFjk9aXu1
— David ‘JoelKatz’ Schwartz (@JoelKatz) November 10, 2026
The timing stung. XRP trades at $1.056, down 17% in a week. That is 71% below its July 2025 record of $3.65.
Schwartz says he sold under a simple rule: sell at every new all-time high. We checked how often that rule would have fired. Since its January 2018 peak, XRP has closed at a new record on only two days, both in July 2025.
So did one of XRP’s best-known builders dump on holders?
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XRP News: Schwartz Sold Into Rallies, Not Into This Drop
The numbers say he sold slowly, over years. Schwartz gave no dates and no sale prices, so nobody outside knows exactly when the coins changed hands.
He has given the reason before. In a July post, he set out his rule: he “agreed with my wife to sell at every new ATH and I really, really hate risk”.
He added more on Monday, November 9. He said he has “sold nearly all of the digital assets I’ve ever held” and has not bought XRP “in a long time”. He still holds “quite a bit of Ripple stock”, which he called more risk than he would like.
The scale is large on paper:
- XRP sold: about 23 million XRP, an 88% cut from his peak.
- What is left: about 3 million XRP, worth about $3.2 million at today’s price.
- Bitcoin: 1,499 BTC sold. Those coins would be worth about $110 million at today’s price of about $73,800.
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XRP Price Analysis: Can XRP Hold Above $1?
XRP trades at $1.056 on Binance, down 2.8% in 24 hours. On Tuesday, after the U.S. inflation report, it fell to $1.0311, its lowest price since August 19.
On the daily chart, where each candle covers one day, XRP sits well below both of its exponential moving averages (EMAs), averages that give recent prices more weight. The 50-day EMA stands at $1.284 and the 200-day EMA at $1.347.
- Resistance: $1.089, the 24-hour high, then $1.130, a recent swing high. Above that, $1.284, the 50-day EMA.
- Support: $1.031, Tuesday’s low, then $1.009. Below that, $0.986, the August 14 low and the last time XRP traded under $1.
| Path | What has to happen | Next stop |
|---|---|---|
| Bounce | A daily close above $1.130 | $1.284, the 50-day EMA |
| Hold | XRP stays between $1.031 and $1.130 | A base above Tuesday’s low |
| Break down | A daily close below $1.031 | $1.009, then $0.986 |
For holders reading this XRP news, Schwartz’s selling is old news with new numbers. Under his own rule, he sells only at a new record, and XRP would need to more than triple to reach one.
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