Former Ripple CTO David Schwartz Challenges $10,000 XRP Theory, Citing Market Reality

Schwartz rejects $10,000 XRP targets. He says the market would already price that in.

Former Ripple CTO David Schwartz pushed back on ultra-bullish models for XRP, arguing rational capital would have lifted the price long ago if a $10,000 outcome were even slightly plausible. Source.

“If there were a few very rich, very rational people who really believed that there was a 1% chance that XRP could hit $10K in 10 years, they’d bid XRP up to at least $20 today,” he wrote. “Why aren’t they? Conspiracy?” X post.

The exchange began with questions about a crypto take on Chris Burniske’s Price = PQ / (V × S) model, used by some to justify a $10,000 base price for XRP. NewsBTC.

Schwartz also addressed a claim that Ripple could push XRP above $100 using Ripple Prime or treasury flows. He rejected the idea of a “magic switch” Ripple could pull now. NewsBTC • X post.

“Maybe there was one time when you could semi-plausibly argue that Ripple had some easy way to shoot up the price of XRP massively for good,” he said. “But boy, it’s hard to argue that today.” X post.

“We’ve explained what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and what we hope to achieve,” Schwartz added. “We’re not hiding some grand conspiracy.” X post.

On claims that wealthy buyers avoid visible markets, he said OTC accumulation wouldn’t change the outcome. “At first. But they wouldn’t stop until they had moved the price or run out of money.” X post.

One user cited reports that the ultra-wealthy are loading up on XRP. Schwartz replied: “The way rich people preserve wealth is by taking bigger risks than other people can stand to take.” NewsBTC • X post.

At press time, XRP traded at $1.3749.