Key Takeaways
- David Schwartz says he will block accounts bringing off-topic crypto replies into his conversations.
- Asked about his influence on XRP’s price, Schwartz acknowledged having “very little.”
- It comes as Dark Defender reaffirmed the chart structure behind an existing $10.1101 XRP forecast.
XRPL co-creator David Schwartz has warned that he will block accounts following him into unrelated conversations to post crypto commentary and accusations, drawing fresh pushback from users frustrated with the token’s performance.
In a separate exchange about his influence on XRP’s price, Ripple’s former chief technology officer acknowledged that his role was probably not zero, but described it as minimal.
The exchange comes as technical analyst Dark Defender reaffirmed the structure behind an existing forecast pointing toward $10, defending his bullish outlook despite the token’s recent decline.
David Schwartz Warns Against Off-Topic XRP Replies
In his Nov. 7 post on X, Schwartz said crypto commentary was increasingly spilling into conversations unrelated to the industry.
“Recently, there’s been a significant increase in people responding to replies of mine that have nothing to do with crypto with insults or crypto content.”
He said the replies created a problem for the people whose threads he joined, exposing their followers to irrelevant messages and potentially encouraging those accounts to block him.
Although he said some posts accused him of fraud or scamming, Schwartz stressed that his policy would apply equally to supportive messages.
“I want to be clear that I will block for this whether your post is a criticism or a compliment.”
Schwartz said he welcomed substantive criticism, including accusations, as long as it was relevant to the discussion and did not consist solely of slurs.
He asked users to raise those points in their own threads or relevant replies to his posts.
Even messages declaring “XRP is great!” could cross the line when inserted into someone else’s unrelated conversation, he added.
Schwartz Says He Has ‘Very Little’ Influence on XRP’s Price
The warning prompted responses from users who argued that their frustration with Schwartz went beyond social media etiquette.
One respondent challenged him directly:
“Don’t run from this. Can you honestly say you have nothing to do with it? People’s anger isn’t baseless.”
Schwartz interpreted the question as being about XRP’s market performance.
“Can I honestly say that I have nothing to do with the price of XRP? I guess probably not nothing. But very little.”
Schwartz has previously challenged ambitious XRP forecasts while acknowledging that his own expectations have underestimated crypto markets.
As CCN reported in January, he declined to endorse suggestions that XRP could reach $50–$100 within a few years.
“I don’t feel comfortable saying something like that,” he wrote.
He also recalled selling XRP at $0.10 and having previously doubted the token would ever reach $0.25.
Speaking earlier in the year, Schwartz argued that investors who assigned a meaningful probability to a $100 XRP price would have an incentive to buy substantially below that level.
However, in October, Schwartz described a financially successful XRP Ledger without strong XRP demand and value as “very unlikely.”
Dark Defender Keeps $10 Scenario in View
Separately, Dark Defender used a Nov. 6 post to defend his existing technical outlook.
“Nothing has changed in the structure.”
The analyst pointed back to support levels of $1.21 and $1.12 marked in his Oct. 25 analysis.
He argued that the decline had reached areas already included in his scenario, rather than necessarily overturning it.
His earlier Elliott Wave chart mapped a potential advance toward $10.1101.
However, reaching double figures would require an enormous recovery.
Using today’s price of $1.12, the token would need to rise around 793% to reach $10.
With around 63.52 billion XRP circulating, those prices would imply market capitalizations of approximately $635 billion and $642 billion, respectively.
How Would $10 XRP Compare With the World’s Biggest Companies?
That valuation would place XRP above some of the world’s major businesses.
| Company |
Approximate market value |
How much larger XRP at $10 would be |
| Mastercard |
$535 billion |
19% larger |
| Coca-Cola |
$412 billion |
54% larger |
| Netflix |
$260 billion |
144% larger |
The comparisons highlight how much XRP would have to grow to reach the $10 target.
However, even then, it would remain well below the largest technology companies.
Microsoft’s $3.94 trillion valuation is more than six times that figure, while Nvidia’s $4.51 trillion market capitalization is roughly seven times larger.
Gold occupies an even greater scale.
Against an estimated $28.4 trillion value for above-ground gold, XRP at $10 would amount to just over 2% of that total—leaving gold roughly 45 times larger.
What Would Need to Happen for XRP to Reach $10?
A sustained move toward $10 would require buyers to absorb available supply at progressively higher prices, followed by enough demand to support those valuations.
Institutional investment and stronger demand to hold XRP for liquidity would need to surge. A broader crypto rally would also be needed.
However, the adoption argument faces a big hurdle as growth in Ripple’s business does not automatically translate into demand for XRP.
As CCN previously reported, Brad Garlinghouse has acknowledged that stablecoins can be better suited to certain payment flows.
Ripple’s payments infrastructure also supports several settlement assets, meaning customers do not necessarily need to use XRP for every transaction.
Analysts Question Whether Adoption Justifies Valuation
Some analysts have challenged the connection between XRPL growth and returns for token holders.
In a June 19 analysis, Motley Fool crypto analyst Alex Carchidi highlighted the weak relationship between network activity and token burning.
“The barely-there linkage between network activity and the coin’s price is a headwind, but it could be changed.”
Carchidi concluded that XRP appeared somewhat overvalued at the time.
However, he also acknowledged that ecosystem development and investment demand could support future value.
Fellow Motley Fool analyst Anders Bylund offered a more bearish assessment in November 2025.
“The coin is overdue for a price correction in comparison to Bitcoin.”
Bylund argued that XRP’s then-$132 billion valuation outpaced its demonstrated economic impact and that building sufficient business traction could take years.
The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be, nor should it be construed as, financial advice. We do not make any warranties regarding the completeness, reliability, or accuracy of this information. All investments involve risk, and past performance does not guarantee future results. We recommend consulting a financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
