Ripple CTO David Schwartz, one of the most recognized names in the cryptocurrency industry, announced that he will leave his position at the end of the year, after more than 13 years.
Schwartz, one of the founding developers of XRP Ledger (XRPL), is also known in the industry by the nickname “JoelKatz” and is among the names that played a key role in Ripple’s current position.
In his farewell statement, Schwartz recalled the turning points of his career and used the following statements:
“I reflect on the last 40 years of my life. It's been a wild ride, from consulting for the NSA to covering the early stages of Bitcoin to meeting Arthur, Jed, and Chris and coding the XRP Ledger. I worked at Ripple for over 13 years, and it's been one of the greatest honors of my life.”
Schwartz, who announced that he will step down as CTO at the end of the year, said he will focus on spending time with his family and returning to his long‑delayed hobbies. However, he added that he will not withdraw from the XRPL ecosystem entirely:
“Be warned, I'm not shying away from the XRP community. In recent months, I've been working on my own XRPL node, exploring non‑Ripple‑focused use cases for XRP. Writing code and interacting directly with developers has always been a thrill for me. There's much more to come in this area.”
Schwartz also announced that he will join Ripple's Board of Directors. After stepping down as CTO, he will continue to contribute to the company as CTO Emeritus.
*This is not investment advice.