Ripple’s CTO David Schwartz to Step Back After 13 Years, Will Join Board as XRP Sees Mild Price Uptick

Leadership transition as Ripple’s top technologist plans move to board seat

TL;DR

• David Schwartz will step down as Ripple’s CTO by end of 2025, assuming a CTO Emeritus role and joining Ripple’s board.
• Schwartz cited personal reasons and will remain active in the XRP community, running his own XRPL node and exploring new use cases.
• XRP’s crypto price index rose briefly (+1.4%) following the announcement before retracing, amid a total coin market cap near $172 billion.

David Schwartz, Ripple’s long-standing Chief Technology Officer and one of the original architects of its blockchain ecosystem, has announced he will begin stepping back from his daily responsibilities at the firm by the end of 2025. The announcement came via a personal post on X (formerly Twitter), where Schwartz described the shift as a deeply personal “inflection moment.” After 13 years helping engineer Ripple’s technical framework—including seven years as CTO—he shared that he will be taking more time to focus on family and rediscover hobbies that had taken a back seat to crypto. While Schwartz’s full transition is expected to unfold over the next few months, he confirmed that he isn’t disappearing from the XRP community and will remain active under the honorary title of CTO Emeritus.

He also revealed plans to join Ripple’s board of directors and to continue contributing to the XRPL ecosystem independently. “You haven’t seen the last of me (now, or ever),” he wrote, reiterating that he has already begun running his own XRP Ledger node and publishing its output data to support research into new applications outside Ripple’s current scope. The move is not a total departure from the project but a repositioning—one that allows Schwartz to step away from operational leadership while continuing to shape technical direction from a broader perspective.

Ripple’s engineering structure will now see Dennis Jarosch, Senior Vice President of Engineering, take over leadership of the company’s technical teams. A Ripple spokesperson confirmed Jarosch would assume these responsibilities, signaling an internal succession plan already in motion. CEO Brad Garlinghouse offered strong public support for the transition, calling Schwartz “a true OG in crypto” and a “legend,” noting that their regular check-ins will continue even after the CTO shift is formalized.

The announcement had a measurable, if short-lived, effect on XRP’s crypto price. According to real-time market tracking, XRP climbed roughly 2.68%—rising from $2.87 to $2.95—shortly after the news broke. With XRP currently ranked as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by coin market cap—estimated around $172 billion—the price reaction underscored how even leadership shifts without immediate product implications can nudge market sentiment.

The timing of the leadership change also coincides with broader movements in the crypto regulatory and political space. Ripple has become increasingly vocal in U.S. political circles, reportedly contributing close to $70 million alongside Coinbase to a PAC named Fairshake. The fund has already backed media campaigns tied to the 2024 elections and is expected to be active again during the 2026 midterms. Garlinghouse recently told “60 Minutes” that such political involvement might not have been necessary had the SEC not taken enforcement action against Ripple, adding a layer of tension to the firm’s ongoing legal and strategic narrative.

What remains to be seen is how the handoff of Ripple’s technical leadership will play out long-term. Schwartz’s post-CTO role on the board ensures continuity, but the internal promotion of Jarosch will now face pressure to sustain Ripple’s momentum in enterprise adoption, cross-border payments, and blockchain development. Schwartz’s move to external experimentation also raises interesting possibilities: his independent work on XRPL infrastructure and data sharing could either complement or eventually diverge from Ripple’s priorities, depending on where future use cases emerge. As XRP’s crypto price index continues to fluctuate and the coin market cap remains in the top tier of digital assets, investors will be watching closely to see how the leadership transition translates into action—both inside Ripple and across the broader ecosystem.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.