Ripple CTO Says XRP Price Dropping to $0.20 After Hitting $4 Is ‘Unlikely But Not Impossible’

Ripple's Chief Technology Officer, David Schwartz, has openly discussed the potential for significant price swings in XRP, admitting that a collapse from $4 to as low as $0.20 or $0.25 cannot be ruled out. In a candid exchange on X, Schwartz also acknowledged that neither he nor anyone at Ripple anticipated XRP reaching its current valuation.

XRP Price Volatility Discussion

Responding to a user's question about XRP potentially crashing from $4 to between $0.25 and $0.31, Schwartz referenced XRP's history, stating, "It went up to $3 and then down to $0.20." He indicated that while such a crash might be unlikely, the events that have already shaped XRP's price trajectory were also considered improbable at various stages. This suggests that XRP's entire price history has been a series of unexpected developments from the perspective of those within Ripple.

Ripple's Early Beliefs on XRP Valuation

Schwartz addressed criticisms that Ripple created XRP solely for fundraising. He expressed that if Ripple had foreseen XRP's future value, they might have acted differently. He admitted, "nobody, at least as far as I know, believed that Ripple could hold on to so much of the supply and make billions of dollars selling it until much later." He further illustrated this point by recalling Bitcoin's early days, where he would have given only a 10% chance of it ever reaching $100 when it was trading at $2.

Personal Anecdote on Market Misjudgment

Schwartz shared a personal anecdote about selling 40,000 Ethereum at $1.05, believing its price rise was over. He noted that this amount of ETH would now be worth approximately $80 million. This experience serves to highlight how even well-informed individuals in the crypto space have consistently misjudged price trajectories. He concluded that if someone had predicted XRP reaching $1.50 in 2025, they would not have sold it for a penny in 2017.